Sword Art Online: Virtually Real
by JustAnotherIndonesianWriter
Summary: So... Let's get on with my new reality, already.
1. Prologue: Welcome to Sword Art Online

SAO... Or should we all say 'Sword Art Online'. The world's best MMORPG that used a NerveGear to create a direct link to our internal systems and virtually create a new virtual reality. I was one of the beta testers for this game. I signed up early and got one spot for testing the game. It was meh. I like the graphics engine, but the combat system should really be repaired. The AI's way too hard for me. Have I died during the beta? No. I was one of the may beta testers who have reached a 150+ hours in game, so I got some pretty good items.

As for my Avatar... I made him look like me in the real life. Huh, Short black hair, with slight bangs covering my heterochromic eyes, with my left eye colored in red while my right is colored in blue. What? Don't ask me if that disease is dangerous. My vision is perfectly fine. Heterochromia doesn't cause blindness. Excessive gaming does. Speaking of excessive gaming. Do I game a lot? Yup. Call me a freak if you want. But without games, I could never live.

My avatar's attire? A pair snowboarding goggles,with dark blue tinted lens cause FTW! Dark blue trench coat with gray linings, gray dress shirt. With this damn huge folded sword on my right hand, I couldn't use any accessories. Oversized metal gauntlet on my left hand, dark blue trousers, and dark blue sneakers with once again, gray linings on the sides.

Different activities? Well, aside from gaming I DO have another life on the outside world. I like to... Write. I have a FanFiction account, some social Media accounts, A YouTube account, a Sound Cloud account and the list goes on. Second to gaming, music and writing is my life. Hate me if you wish, but a gamer is bound to try other things since it's like what everyone said... This real world we're living has infinite possibilities.

Speaking of this world, I need to eat. Welp, since today's the launching date, the server's bound to crash due to the overload anyway. Sooo... Time to log out. Huh... I could swear there's a log out option here. Meh, I'm not that hungry. Could just be a bug. Of course, noticing this the Dev should fix this game soon, seeing how they actually freakin created a full virtual environment just for us to explore.

Huh? My character's stats? Level 16 Swordsman... I kinda named that class myself. Yeah. Well since I AM level 16 Swordsman. Which is weird, since they created a 15 level limit during the beta, but somehow I managed to surpass that. Not that I care. Every game must have its bugs. Armaments? This... Badass looking sword I got randomly... I don't know, I logged in yesterday and this thing is on my inventory list. It's an unknown folding sword [GN-Sword III] with its sheath planted on my arm. When the blade parts is turned back,it could be used as a makeshift shield. Cool, huh? Two birds in one stone. Strangely... This sword has no name.

Huh... It's evening, but the color of the sky is rather... Weird. Is something wrong with the environmental system? Huh, must be... This game has lotsa bugs... Hear my comment, you devs! Ahem, so... The sky is patterned with hexagonal... things, with the words '**_Warning__!_**' and '**_System announcement__!_**' Printed largely on them. Huh, must be the announcement for the fix on these bugs. Thank goodness.

Wait, where'd everyone go? Suddenly everyone teleported out of the place. Excluding me, of course, which is just sitting quietly at the outskirts of the 'Town of the Beginnings' if I'm not mistaken. Sorry if I got some spellings wrong. I'm not Japanese. I just came here a year or two ago, and my Japanese is STILL not good and so is my English.

I can see the town's center being filled with players. Huh, so they got teleported there, huh? Meh, too lazy to even move myself. Just gonna sit back and wait until the announcement actually began.

"Oh?" Came a cold, dark voice behind me. "I see that you're not teleported into the Town's Center."

I lazily turned my back to my side. And a floating figure with a long dark crimson coat that reaches up to his knees, With two pale white hands, obscured face, dark red aura shrouding him and dismembered body, it's quite an eerie image to look.

"Please. I have an issues with ghost." I replied to him, snapping my sights back to the error-rendered skies.

Some chuckling can be heard. "Quite guts you have there, talking to the very maker of the game like that."

"Oh, you're the maker of this game?" I finally had the bravery to turn my head back to him, although his pitch black face is sending chills down my spine. "Dude, it's an honor to meet you." I said casually. "This game's amazing, but has a lot of bugs." I admitted.

"Oh?" That came out rather cold... Yet... Dangerously playful. "Bugs, you say?"

I nodded, gazing back to the skies with a sigh. "Yeah, and since you're here... Might as well as give a report of this game, yeah?" No response. "I'll take that as a yes, Game Master." I spoke up. "Well, to start, as you can see, I can actually set my username to be '**_-_**' which the game clearly stated that we have to use romanized characters for our username. Second, the freaking AI is overpowered. Third, why am I a level 16? I thought there's a cap for the testers such as myself. And fourth, I can't log out. Fifth, the graphics-"

"Alright, alright, I get you, boy." Whoa, what's with that annoyed voice, old timer? "I do... Realize those... Bugs, you're talking about. But, every game has its own... Bugs, am I correct?" He chuckled?

Why am I having a bad feeling about this? "Uh-huh."

"Truth be told... I have picked some... Unique beta testers such as yourself to break the level 15 limit. I'm doing this just to merely test you against the hostile AIs." He informed with a grimly proud manner.

"I feel honored." I answered casually, chuckling lightheartedly.

He also gave an eerie chuckle. "Oh, you must be... You **_ARE_** my tool after all." Okay, what was that? I didn't hear that part quite well. "You must also be wondering about that sword, correct?" I nod. "That sword is a... Reward from me, since you're the first player to reach the level 16 during the beta test."

I slouch slightly in my grassy seat. "Again, I feel honored." I replied, still not breaking my gaze from the skies.

"Ahaha... You're one carefree boy aren't you?"

I sighed. "I get that a lot. Now, about this log out thing?" I'm probably getting annoyed getting postponed and stuff.

All of the chuckles are now gone, and I feel death creeping. "Oh... About the log out system... I decided to cut it out from the official release... You can't log out, and if someone from the outside world tries to take your NerveGear out of your head, it will send a powerful electromagnetic wave, enough to fry your brain cells and kill you." He explained intimidatingly.

"Uh-huh." I replied absentmindedly. "So?"

He hissed, growing irritated by my seemingly carefree personality. "Boy, you should really work on your attitude. If you don't believe me, try it for yourself. I'm sure the other 231 players who have retired from the game and the real world would be happy to see a beta tester joining them in the afterlife." He intimidated me. "I've also informed the world wide gaming community about this... So... This is not a lie, young man."

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Yup..." I sighed. "Yada-yada-yada bosses bosses bosses. So, how do I get outta here, GM?"

"GM?" He asked me.

I glared at him, he just asked the most obvious question in the whole goddamn world. "_**G. M.**_" I replied the words delicately but with the tone screaming '**KILL**' and '**MURDER**' in two letters I spoke out. "**_GAME. MASTER._**"

I swear to God, I could see him flinch. "I see... Well, for you to escape from this game... I'm just giving you one simple objective. Clear the game." He stated loud and clearly. "To clear this game, you have to advance through the 100 floors, and beat every single bosses you encounter. Once you beat the final boss, it's a mission complete for you."

"What's the catch?" I ask, somewhat intrigued rather than scared.

"You can log out of this game and live your life in peace."

I finally stood up from the grass. "Sounds awesome. But what about our daily needs such as sleep, hunger, and thirst?"

He chuckled yet again, proudly this time. "I've programmed the NerveGear to transfer your senses into the avatar you're playing right now. Anything you fulfill here, you fulfill yourself in daily life."

"GM, you one awesome dude." I smirked at him, before a button flashes at my inventory screen. "Hmm? A mirror?" I asked, my finger hovering before the unknown item.

"Use it." He commanded.

I nodded awkwardly at him, grabbing the mirror into my hands, I stare at my reflection for a full minute. "Uhm... GM, I know that my looks aren't that sophisticated but... What...? Seriously... What..." I trailed off, raising an eyebrow.

He fidgets slightly, before he laughed heartedly. "You made your avatar to look exactly like you?" He asked. "Even that different colored eyes?"

"It's called heterochromia iridium, old timer." I exhaled, I mean, everyone would say that this eyes of mine are like a freaking magic or something. "It's a genetical disease."

The grim reaper nods its non-existing face. "I see. Well...The main purpose for the mirror is actually to scan your actual face in real life and paste them into your avatar." He explained shortly. "I think it's time to take my leave... And one more thing... Good luck to you, my dear level 16 player... And don't die... Because once your health reaches 0... It's a game over..." An evil laugh... How stereotypical of him. Then he vanished into thin air. At the same time, the skies turned back to normal.

"GM! Your game's graphics engine sucked!" I yelled.

* * *

**Sword Art Online: Virtually Real**

**-Logging into Server Zero-**

**Server Name : Welcome to Sword Art Online**

**-Log In Complete. Please Enjoy The Game-**

* * *

Uh-huh, so that's that, I could hear some screams from the Town of the Beginnings. Oh yeah... I should really go there and find as much information regarding this thing as possible. I'm going to need it anyway. Might as well as help the beginners with the basics of SOA. They're going to need it more than I do. And damn, I'm starving... Could use a good sandwich down in the city. So, I picked myself up from the ground. And began to jog lightly to the town.

Along the way, I met some boars and wolves. Pfft, those things can't fight for crap, one swipe kill from this awesome sword GM gave to me. I need to thank him later when I meet him again. Also... Perks of being a lone wolf... Nothing noteworthy though... So, run, me, run! I need to get to the town before sundown! Because... Because... Go to hell, darkness, I hate you, and your friend, ghosts! Just thinking about them can send chills all over my body, I hate you, GM's avatar!

In town, I could see some desperate faces, most of them have already broke down, crying. Looks like the situation is much worse than I thought. Although I could really feel the uneasiness of this 'objective' GM has given to me, I didn't thought that the impact to the other players was much more severe than me myself. Well... I didn't seem fazed when the GM talked to me... So...

Call me carefree, but that's what I am... I blame school for my bad grades... No regrets!

Wait, is that someone running towards the town's gate? Yeah... That is someone... Wait... Isn't that one of the beta testers? I recognize his gamer's username. The said guy spotted me as well. He stopped before me and looked at me skeptically.

"Yo... You're the beta tester right?" I greeted politely. "Watcha doing? Leaving town so fast?"

He must've noticed my current level. "I... I want to train at the next village."

I went silent. "The road there's pretty dangerous... Not to be rude or trying to brag and all... But a level one like you should go in parties." I recommended, pointing at a gathering guild at the corner of the store there. Him looking away from me seems to be signalling that he wants to get all of the XPs first. I sighed knowingly. The guy's taller than me, but me patting his head made me look like his senior. Although, yeah, I do feel stupid for doing that.

I opened up my inventory and pushed a gift button. I gave 20 healing potions to him. His response was almost immediate, eyes wide, looking at me confusedly.

"A gift." I informed simply. "You'll need it more than I do." I continued, losing the last bit of the smile on my face, to be replaced in a pensive look. "Go. Go now, I've killed some of the enemies and they shouldn't spawn back immediately. If you go now, you'll have a better chance along the way." I whispered to him quietly, making sure that it's loud enough for him to hear though.

"R-right... Thanks for all of your help... Uh..." He stammered.

That's right... My username's '-', huh? Well, it's mostly because I don't like my name to be made public. "No worries, Kirito-san. Now go. Go!" I pushed him in the back, forcing him to run, he sprinted forward although his head kept looking straight towards me. I smiled at him, waving at him lowly with my left hand, and after he's finally out of my sights. I forgot one important thing.

I need something to eat. Seriously. Sandwich, here I come!

* * *

I can't enjoy my meal in peace, seriously. Not without a trade invite every three damn seconds, I would love to help them out, but this is just too much, I ended up giving most of my healing potions for them, damn me for being to generous. Now, I finally secured a place for me to just be in peace. 'Kay, sandwich, now it's just you, me and... A soft whimpering sobs? HOLY CRAP, that better not be a ghost!

I jolted back in surprise, and my different colored eyes met a crouched female figure on the floor. Shoulder length brown hair, standard level one attire. I hover my finger above her avatar and the name 'Lisbeth' pops up on my 1st person view. Is she crying...? Oh no! Not that! Crying girls is one of my weaknesses aside from ghosts, bloods, darkness, enclosed spaces, deep oceans, insects, sharp pointy objects (which is ironic since I'm playing this game), horrible monsters and cute little kittens! I mean, she's right there, head hung low, pressing against her knees, on a quiet alley...

Crap what should I do...? I know that this thing is probably too much for a newcomer like her... But... damn it! So... I decided to approach her... Quietly... AND NO, DON'T YOU GUYS EVEN THINK THAT I'M GOING TO RAP-... I should cry to myself on the corner of the room now, thank you. Seriously... I need to cry... Why's there no freaking TISSUE on this game?! GM, you owe me a favor!

I crouched beside her. "Hey, you alright?" I asked maybe a bit TOO casual...

She jolted in surprise, hearing my sudden somewhat high-pitched voice, which is weird for a guy like myself. Her dark pink eyes stared at me blankly, before screaming in horror and backs away from me.

"AHH! GET AWAY!" She wails loudly. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

I raised both of my hands defensively. "Hey! Hey! Calm down! I'm not here to hurt ya!" I retorted back, but she kept backing away from me. Finally reaching my own limit, a frustrated me marched rapidly at her, before grabbing her shoulders firmly and forced her to look at me. "Hey, Hey!" I yelled, trying to get her attention. "Look at me. Look at me!" I commanded, that's... Maybe a little too cold...

She went silent, and our gaze finally met. Looks like she's scared.

"Listen. I'm not going to hurt you... Uh... Lisbeth-san, right?" I helped her up to her feet, to see that I'm standing at the same height as hers. Woohoo, go short guys. "You should get to the town's center... Or better yet, get out of this town immediately. I know what's going on and you should train yourself." I looked left and right paranoidly for some reason.

She stared at my blank username. "Who... Who are you?" She asked, a bit hesitantly.

"Me? I'm-" I stopped myself abruptly. "Look, my name's not important for now. I need to get you out of here. It's already dark... So..." I opened up my inventory and gave her 10 healing potions and a level one war hammer. As expected, a surprised reaction is seen on her face.

"Wha-" She stammered, opening her own inventory as well.

I coughed awkwardly. "It's for your own safety." I said firmly. "Look it's already dark, and as expected, people should be already gathering around the training field of this town... Therefore, we should get out of here to the next town." I explain it slowly. "Don't worry, I'm a beta-tester and a level 16, I also met another beta-tester along the way. I'm sure he'll help."

She stood up maybe a bit weakly. "I..." She trailed off before smiling at me, which made me a bit surprised because I wasn't expecting a sudden mental recovery. "Thanks... Uh... What's-Your-Name-san."

What's-Your-Name? Seriously? Must not facepalm. But I decided to shrug it off, looking at her low stats, she won't last long. "Look, we're going to sneak outta town, and into the next village, and I'm coming with you, just to make sure everything's alright. Some of the hostile mobs should already spawn again by this minute, so the path there is not to be taken lightly, understand?"

"I... Understand." She replied. "But why are you doing this? Aren't you going to train as well?" She asked, confused.

I sighed warily. "You newcomers will need it more than I do." I answered coldly. "So..." I offered my left hand. "...Ready?"

She equips her war hammer, and accepts my waiting hand with her other free hand. "Ready." She grinned confidently at me.

* * *

**Server Zero : Passed ; Authenticating players to the next server . . .**

* * *

**-Dev's Log-**

Hello, readers all across the world! It is I... A random writer... Bringing you my very first work of fiction of SOA! So I just started watching this thing today and... I just finished episode one... And... Poof! There's this fic! I know what you're probably thinking, 'How come someone with such little knowledge regarding the series would write this fic?! This is atrocious!' I know, I know, I apologize, and yeah, it's my fault for not getting the lore of the series very well.

Flame this fic, guys, seriously. Flame this fic.

Ahem, onto the next matter, who is this 'Me' in the story? He's just another nameless author-self insert OC. Don't mind him. I would like to explain his armament.

The Sword he had in the current time, is based on Gundam 00's GN Sword III, of course, it belongs to Bandai and Sunrise. I just like the design of that sweet looking folding sword...

And the left hand Gauntlet is based on Onimusha's 'soul absorbing gauntlet'. I don't know what that thing is called... Copyright goes to its creators... Um, Capcom, I guess?

Although things looked a bit disoriented and maybe a bit Garry-Stu-ish, I promise on my non-existent PS4's name, I'll balance it out during the later chapters, since, of course, the main protagonist of the series is not the 'Me', but the young 'Kirito'. Cheesy prologue chapter, isn't it? The next chapters would probably look a lot better since I would probably get a better grip on the main storyline.

That's... About it... Bring on the flames for this story guys... It sucked, seriously...


	2. First Floor's Shenanigans

"No, no, all of you're doing it wrong, try swinging it just below its abdomen! It'll be a confirmed kill fo' sho!" I yelled from the sides of the field. Oh what am I doing? I'm currently training that girl I met on the on the first day as well as some other beginners. Why am I doing this? Let me tell you about our full summary, here...

It's been a full month since that trapping incident, and about 2000 players have already died because of that. Freakin' bad-ass wannabes, tryin' to solo the freaking dungeon all by themselves with little to no prep, such as high levels, good weapons, and health potions, those guys never stood a chance. Although it's their fault at the first place for not reading the manual, I still think that it's somewhat our fault, yes, us, the beta-tester for not really giving them the needed aid.

Snapping out of my laziness, I decided to do whatever I can to help these guys. Giving health potions free of charge, trading items, giving the scouting team a support... Of course by I mean, support, I mean, joining the fray by myself, lonewolfing the enemies like an idiot. Call me introvert if you may, but I have this awkward social anxiety issues. As one of the highest leveled player around... FOR NOW, many of the players could easily identify me a beta tester. Some come to ask for my aid, but some other... Despise me with all of their might, much to my confusion and dismay.

Not that I blame them... But yeah... They said, most of the beta testers already hogged all of the good training spots. They should really start to care for each other, especially for all of the beginners present in the field, ya know what I'm sayin' here? It's sad how even in dire situations like these, people aren't working with each other...

"Coach...! Coach!" A voice snapped me out of my thoughts, snapping my view from the skies and back to the training field, I could see the trainees done with their training. "We're done here!" They yelled. I don't know why're they calling me coach, but since I haven't really disclose my real name, let alone my user name, I guess that's acceptable. But still it does feel weird for someone to call me like that.

"Dude I advanced two levels in this training ground alone!"  
"Oh yeah? Suck it! I got this new item!"  
"Heh, look at all the Col I got!"  
"Man, I can finally master this cool skill!"  
"At this rate, we'll be able to beat the boss in no time!"

Huh, just hearing those small chatters gave me a good amount of relieve and confidence. I nod once at them. "There's a few more mobs spawning about 50 meters to the right, if you guys up for it, they're in for the kill!" I yelled from the distance, guiding them to the next hunting spot.

Hey, is that girl... What's her name... Lisbeth! yeah, Lisbeth walking up to me? "Hey, coach." She greeted me cheerily.

"Yo." I greeted her back. "Aren't you goin' to join the rest of them to the training ground over there?" I pointed my finger lazily to the other low-levels over to the right. Next thing I noticed, I yawned loudly.

"Tired?" She asked, taking a seat in the plains.

I swear, metaphorical sleepy bubbles are coming out of my head. "Yeah." I answered simply. "Haven't been able to get some good sleep for a while now."

"Coach, you should know your limits, really. You don't have to train us ALL day." She sighed, using her hand to swipe some bangs that's getting on her face. "I mean, even you're a high-leveled player, you're still human. You can't possibly force yourself ya' know." She added, raising and eyebrow and frowning at the same time.

"Pfft... Who said anything about that?" I raspberried her comment. "I'm just tired from all of the expedition into the dungeon, that's all."

Hearing the word 'dungeon', her pace lit up with curiosity sparkling around her. "Really? You've scouted the dungeon? What's in there? Have you fought the boss? Have you-"

"Whoa, Lisbeth-san! Calm down! I can't answer all of those questions at once!" I raised both of my hands, trying to shut her up. My attempt are proven successful. Okay, now that she's calmed down, I could finally begin. "We've finally found the first level's boss." I informed.

She went even more excited, much to my dismay. "Really?" She asked again. "Then that's why some of the guys are holding a meeting at the village's center today?"

"Yeah... The information's not worth all of those lives, though..." I continued grimly.

She gave me a confused look. "Say, coach... Aren't you going to go to the meeting yourself."

"I'm planning to." I replied. "What time is it anyway?"

The brunette checked her in-game screen. "10:02." She answered. "Why'd you ask?"

The meeting starts at 10:00... Oh my Crap! I jumped forward in a panicked manner. "SAY WHAT NOW?!" I yelled in full-blown surprise, which in turn, surprises her as well. "DAMN IT, THE MEETING STARTS AT 10 SHARP!" I cursed loudly. "Lisbeth-san, you and the guys just keep on practicing, alrite? BRB in like an hour or two." Damn me and my usual laziness. I mean what kind of crappy guy that's lazy enough to even check the DAMN time?!

"U-uh, R-right!" She replied back to me, still surprised. "H-have fun, coach!"

Dude, meetings are always not fun... I groaned loudly before sprinting off into the distance.

* * *

**Sword Art Online: Virtually Real**

**-Logging into Server One-**

**Server Name : First Floor Shenanigans**

**-Log In Complete. Please, Enjoy The Game-**

* * *

So, I arrived at the town's center at 10:07. Damn me and my poor stamina. My agility's good but I can't say the same for my damn stamina. I'm not really cut out for that sort of thing, seriously. My short height supports that theory further. Please meet me and my poor supply of oxygen... Ugh... This is depressing, but then again, why should **_I_**, out of all people feel depressed about it? It's like what they said, '_All toasters toast... toas-_' Ahem. Excuse me. '_Just enjoy your life to the fullest, don't let anything put you down._'

Yeah... That quote really put some spirit in me. Oh, look at me, I'm walking down the stairs and my awkward social anxiety issues kicked in, why don't I just... There! Sit in the corner like an idiot! Hurray me. Oh, the meeting's just about to start, too! Looks like I'm not the only one who's late. Suck it, losers!

"Okay, let's get started, people!" That guy in blue yelled from the center of the stage. Snapping everyone's attention to him, me included. "Thank you all for coming today. My name's Diabel." He smacked his chest armor piece. Ouch, that's gotta hurt... "I like to consider my 'job' as a Knight!" He finished, this earned some laughter as well as chuckles from the audiences.

"There's no job system in this game!"  
"A Knight?"  
"You should take this more seriously, ya know!"  
"Then this meeting's a joke too?"

Some jokes, mocks, and jeers are also heard from the crowd who're in the meeting right now. But seriously...? Was that a joke? Cause it's really unimpressive. No seriously... That was a bad joke, not worth it. I wish I could just 'boo' but... Meh... Too lazy to open my mouth. But looks like... Everything's taking its turn for the serious part in this meeting. I can see it in his sudden change of expression.

"Recently, our scouting party found the scouting room at the top of the first floor's tower." He declared. Once again, I bit my lower lip. This info are not worth all of those lives. This earned him some surprised faces. "We need to defeat the boss and advance to the second floor, and tell everyone waiting at the Town of Beginnings that it is actually possible to clear this game." I can sense the seriousness in his voice. "Everyone present shares the same duty! Do you all agree?"

A synchronized 'Yeah' and some applause came from the crowd. I myself, have no comment regarding this matter. So... You want to increase the morale of the newbies, huh...? Great idea... But...

"Alright, now let's begin our planning." Sudden feel of nausea, is this bad? "First, divide to parties of six."

**_CRAP._**

"Of course we'll be in the same party."  
"Dude, join mine."  
"I'll be the leader for this one."  
"Hey, accept my invite."  
"Right, we have the numbers needed!"  
"Alright, let's do this!"  
"Good to have you here, bro!"

**_CRAP. CRAP. CRAP._ **No, don't, DON'T fidget in place, me. I don't myself panicking in this situation.

"A normal party doesn't stand a chance against the boss." Diabel stated, which most of its contents fell upon deaf ears. Yeah... Those ten guys over at the scouting party didn't make it out from the boss room... Damn it! "So, we're creating a raid group that's consisted of multiple parties." Now that's a good idea. Overwhelm the enemies with our sheer numbers, huh?

Okay... I guess I should try my own luck and search for a party as well... Lady Fortuna, please bestow me your shining light... Here I go!

"Sorry, full."  
"Already six guys, here."  
"We'd like to have you in... But sorry, our party's full."  
"Nope, sorry. Already a full boat here."  
"Full party, dude. Sorry."

DAMN IT. Discrimination against gamers, I say! Discrimination! Oh, look that party's only composed of two guys. Better try that group over there. Walking to their position, I could see one is a hooded figure while one is somewhat familiar in my heterochromic eyes.

Time to test my final quarter. "Yo." I waved my hand lowly to them, gaining their attention... WAIT, isn't that... "Kirito-san?!" I exclaimed in surprise.

His face also shared the same surprise look I have. "A-ah! You from the first day!" He pointed a finger at me.

"Wow, what a coincidence." I chuckled awkwardly, regaining my lost composure. "I see that you're doing well." I continued sincerely.

He gave me a tiny smile. "Well, part of it is thanks to you that I'm able to get into this town, really."

"Shucks, I didn't do crap." I scratched the back of my head. "So... Uh, have you formed a party yet?"

"Well, actually, yes I have." He replied. "Why'd you ask?"

Oh... So he already got a party for himself huh...? Guess that's a no from him as well. "Ah... I see, nevermind, then... I just thought that you still have a space free or something..."

"Huh? A space free? Of course we do." He interjected. "Would you like to join the party, uh..." My username's '-', and you can't change that!

"Sure. Just send me an invite, and I'll be there in a jiffy." I replied, beep, there goes the invite. Yada yada yada... Accept accept accept, okay. We're set. Okay, so let's see here... The party's consisted of him, myself... And Asuna...?

My different colored eyes immediately turned to the hooded figure sitting beside us. To be frank, she haven't said anything at all since my entry to their area. The upper part of her face's obstructed by the cloak and hood she's wearing. Who is she, anyway? Although I can't see her face, she's obviously staring at me, probably giving me an analyzing look. Understandable, although I do feel a little bit uncomfortable. I gave her a polite nod, signalling that I'm honored to become a member for this party.

She shrugged. Oh well. Not that I really care anyway, lolz.

"Okay, have everyone formed their parties?" Another synchronized 'yeah' came as a reply. "Well, then let's-"

"Wait a second!" Came a new voice from the top of the arena, making all of us turn to see the new voice's source. The figure who said that skillfully skipped down the steep stone steps and down into the field, earning some impressed 'Oooh' from the other guys.

He looks old, that stupid spiky hair of his... And that beard... LOL!

"My name's Kibaou." He declared, pointing a finger at himself.

Pfft, yeah... And I'm the Indonesian Neil Armstrong.

"I wanna say something before we take on the boss." He assumed a stance. "Some of you here need to apologize to the two thousand players who have died so far!" My hands slowly clenching into fists... Biting my lower lip, I narrowed my eyes... Just... Not that topic anymore.

"Kibaou-san, are you referring to the beta-testers?" Diabel asked politely, not trying to pour more oil into the fire, I see.

"Of course I am! On the day this stupid game started, the beta guys ditched us beginners, and they all disappeared." Ngh... Must not... Get angry... "They took all of the hunting spots and easy quests for themselves, so only they could get stronger. And then, They just ignored the rest of us." He glared at some of the audiences, and maybe upon me... "I'm sure someone here was in the beta! They should get on their knees and apologize, and give all of the items and money they've hoarded to us!" He declared. "Otherwise, we can't trust them as a party member!"

W-WHAT?! IS HE NUTS?! I'll... Huh? Asuna's holding my clenched hand. "Don't." She commanded simply. Noticing this, Kirito also shook his head, ordering me not to mind the matter. He also looked a little bit pissed but at least not as much as I am right now. Come on, where's my carefree personality? I need to calm down, seriously... Okay, what was the stupid guy saying at the front? I couldn't hear him that clearly.

"May I speak?" Came in yet another new face, a bald guy... This guy's big... By I mean big, he's freaking TOWERING. HULKING TOWERING... AH! I have issues... with someone like him...

He marched his way slowly to the stage, and stopped before that stupid looking guy... What was his name? Kibaou was it? Sounds stupid, just like his beard, LOL!

"My name's Egil." Intimidating name, bad guy. "Kibaou-san... Tell me if you have this right, you're saying that because of the beta testers didn't take care of them, many beginners died, and they should take responsibility, apologize, and provide compensation. Correct?"

Did Kibaou just flinched? "Y-yeah."

Then, Egil opened his inventory and pulls out a brown leather covered book. "You got this guide book, didn't you? It was provided free at the item store."

"Sure I did, why?"

"It was compiled from information given by the beta testers." At this statement, everyone gasps in surprise. Have I got that book? Meh, I'm too lazy to open up the inventory right now. "Listen, everyone had equal access to this information, and still, many players died. I thought the topic of discussion was what we could learn from their deaths, and how that can help us to beat the boss."

A silence. Damn deafening silence. I... He was right... That guy's right.

Kibaou glared at him for a couple of seconds, before grunting and finally sitting down, seeing that Egil's attempt to defuse the situation was successful, he followed suit.

"Alright, then, can we resume?" A couple of agreeing nods. "The latest edition of the guide book was just issued, and it contains the information about the boss." Written by yours truly. "According to it,, the boss's name is Illfand the Kobold Lord. He's guarded by assistants known as Ruin Kobold Sentinels. He's armed with an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars, and when the last one enters red, he switched to the curved sword weapon type called Talwar. His attack pattern changes as well."

That earned an 'Ooooh', from us. Not including my party.

"This concludes the briefing. Lastly, items will be automatically distributed. XP goes to the party who defeats the boss, and whoever gets an item, gets to keep it. Any objections?" Silence. "Okay, we leave tomorrow, at ten in the morning. See you there!"

And the players began to vacate the arena, Asuna included.

"Uhm, Kirito-san. I gotta jet. I need to go back to the field... So uh... See you tomorrow?" I was jogging lightly in the floor, my feet itching to run back to the training field.

"Sure." He smiled warily at me.

"GTG, bye."

* * *

"I'm back, lol." I stated loudly, finally got back into the field... Although it's practically not possible to feel actually tired from running in this game, I don't know why, but I'm just exhausted. "So... How'd it go, guys?" I asked. Let's see, it's already... 14.17?! Holy crap!

Lisbeth was the first one to talk, she looks... a bit pissed, considering that angry look on her face and her hands on her waist. "You're late coach!" She yelled. "The area's practically swept clean by us, now!" She poked me, angered by my poor time management.

No enemies in sight... lol, she's right. I guess I should just end the training session for today. "Alright, guys, hear, hear... There's no training session for tomorrow, since I'll be going somewhere, but if you guys want to train, there's a lot of wolves to the East. Just remember what I said, time your swipes, dodges and attacks, and always carry a health potion, got it?" ... "Good job on today's training, guys. Here..." Sending 1 health potions to each of the present members on the field... Right. "Alright, you guys are all dismissed, good luck out there!"

A sync'ed 'thank you' was heard and there goes the beginners. And there they go... Some wandered around the area, some went back to the town, some other went to the East, probably to scout the area for any interesting enemies. I sat on the grass, tired from all of the things I've been doing lately. But when I raised my head again, I got an eyeful of brown hair and dark pink hair.

"Lisbeth-san?" I asked, confused.

She smirked. "You know, you should really stop giving us those health potions, coach."

"Sorry, couldn't help it." I smirked, breaking my gaze away from her and back into the clear blue afternoon skies.

Silence... Rather awkward silence.

"So... What's that thing on your hand? I've never seen a sword like that before." She pointed out. "I mean, most of the swords carried by the players are usually sheathed on their backs or on their waists, but in the arm?"

I gestured my right hand to reveal the folding bastard sword. "This thing? I don't know too, exactly. I got this as a reward from the Game Master when I reached the level 16. The sword itself has no name, and its description is depicted in binary codes. The stats are all jittery and blocky too." I hovered left hand over the sword to show the actual proof. The name of the sword is blank, 00101001010 that kinda thing in the description, and blocky stats.

"Can I... Take a look at it...?" She asked, somewhat curious about it, I suppose.

I nod. "Sure." I pressed the eject button on the screen and several loud hisses are heard from the sword's mechanism. A few seconds later, the sword is on the ground.

She tried to lift it to no avail. "It's heavy." She complained.

"Well, duh." I answered sarcastically. "It's a greatsword type... Sword. Or should I say bastard sword. It's really a pain to wield it on the arm. Especially when you have to swing it."

"Then why are you actually wielding it?" She asked again, bewildered.

I sighed, this conversation is going nowhere. "It's... Special, I guess... I don't know why, but I think I've grown way too attached to it to wield something else."

She examined the sword around, until it got to its damaged gauntlet part. "Whoa, what's wrong with this, coach?"

Oh yeah... Being a lone wolf has its own risk. I find myself focusing on the defense more than the offense. "I can also use this thing as a shield, but... As you can see, it's not doing so good."

I don't like that grin she had on her face. "Well, why don't I repair for you?"

"E-eh?" Was my ingenious reply.

"Do I really need to say it again? I can repair this thing for you, ya know."

I sat upright. "Seriously?" I didn't know if that came out surprised or sarcastic. Maybe both, lol.

"Uh-huh, I got this hammer used to smith tools and weapons, this is a quest reward for helping the smith back at the village." She summoned the hammer to her hands, smiling at the not-living object brightly.

"What's the catch for you?" I asked, reaching into my pockets for some Cols.

"Nothing, it's free!" A wide eyed me, watch out, Lisbeth. "Oh don't give me that look, coach. You trained us day and night, gave us Cols and healing potions, I could only do this to help you, so please!" She demanded.

I relent. "Alright, alright... But it's ONLY for this time, alright, Lisbeth-san?" I glared at her.

"Please... Just call me Liz, coach. Now, we have to get back to the town and find the smith..."

* * *

The walk back to the town was rather peaceful. GM really made this place a blast. All of that immersion and stuff, I could even feel the non-existing wind blowing against my face, sending my bangs upwards to reveal my different colored eyes. Of course, with Lisbeth being here with me, I knew well that it wasn't going to be THAT peaceful. Lol, poor me... She began asking questions about the real me.

"So, coach, how old are you?"  
"Fourteen, will be fifteen years old in two-three months time."  
"Wow, you're young to be a gamer."  
"I get that a lot."

"Are you Japanese?"  
"No."  
"Wow, you're a foreigner?"  
"I get that a lot."

"Who are you in real life, coach?"  
"I'd rather not disclose my name for now."  
"Stingy bastard."  
"I get that a lot."

"Why's the color of your eyes like that?"  
"Heterochromia Iridium, genetical disease. Actually like this in real life."  
"That's pretty... Unique..."  
"I get that a lot."

"Are you that short too in real life?"  
"Yeah."  
"You're not that tall, you know, right?"  
"I get that a lot."

"Why's your username only a dash sign?"  
"I don't know."  
"Why?"  
"I get that a lot."

"Are you really a beta tester?"  
"Uh-huh."  
"Wow, that's cool!"  
"I get that a lot."

And the list of question regarding me, and my life continues on...

* * *

We arrived back into the town, nearing dusk, street lights have been lighted up on the pathways. Now, Lisbeth and I have been searching for the town's smith, and when we finally, arrived, the NPC smith greets us with his usual smile.

"Ah, Liz! Good to have you back, oh and you brought a friend with you too, huh? Good Evening, sir." He greeted me politely, wow, such amazing AI, seriously.

Lisbeth just waved him off with her usual grin. "He's my coach, I'm just here to repay him for all of his deeds for us."

"My, are you one good fellow." He grinned at me.

"I get that a lot." I replied simply.

"Say, smithy, the forge's free to use, right?" Lisbeth asked, suddenly, catching me off guard and making me jolt in surprise.

The smith just smiled at her. "Of course! Help yourself out, Liz!"

We took that cue to enter the forging area, whew the hot steam are already getting to me. But that's why they call a forge 'a forge', I guess. There are some scraps, metals, hilts, more metals, and unfinished swords laying around the small cramped space. She summoned her hammer and puts it down on the forging table, she also summoned some of the materials needed to repair my folding greatsword. Some metal ingots here and there yada yada yada...

"Uhm, Liz-san, I can actually get those materials myself, ya 'know." I raised my left hand, with my right hand being too heavy with this sword planted on it.

She just waved at me dismissively. "Aww sucks to be you coach, but it's my treat! Now, hand over the sword." That was scary... She sounded like a damn burglar demanding money from a bank's clerk or something between those lines. Sheesh, I suppose I don't have any other choice, huh?

"Alright, alright... Geez..." I exhaled, handing over my almost broken blade to her.

With those dark pink eyes of hers, she examined the damage on the gauntlet part of the sword, aside from some cracks and burnt marks as well some corrosive stains visible. The bladed part itself has gotten a bit dull over the times. The green crystal edges of the sword is also losing its color due to excessive usage. Pretty much, although not severe, everyone could obviously see the damage even from afar.

"Alright, coach, just stay put, I'll get this done in a jiffy."

* * *

That was a lie, I find myself dozing off on the chair next to the forge, the heat isn't so bad once you get used to it, after quite a while, I realize that someone is knocking my head. Irritated, I groggily opened my eyes to find Lisbeth, hitting my head with her smithing hammer, she shared the same irritated look I have on my face.

"All done, coach." She grumbled, her hammer kept on knocking on my head.

I shoved her hand away from my head lightly. "Ow, ow! Knock it out, Liz-san!" I hissed. "Seriously, why are you doing that?!"

"You're not supposed to feel any pain in this game, coach." She deadpanned.

Oh yeah... That... "But I could still feel the damn pokes on my head which I find mildly annoying, AND my health bar is also depleting if you do that, so, if you please?" I requested, practically begging. Looks like my reasoning worked out well, HAH! I triumph! "So, all done?"

"All done, coach." She grinned brightly, she took a sidestep for me to examine the sword and.

GOOD LORD! It's perfect! Damn perfect! All those stains, all those cracks, GONE! She even repaired the blade. I stared at the great sword blankly before sliding my hand into the locking mechanism. A few loud hisses can be heard, and when I lift my right hand, my sword shine metaphorically. Holy crap! This thing's amazing! My heterochromic eyes turned to my left to see a certain brunette wiping her nose proudly.

"Holy damn... You've colored me impressed with your metalworking skills, Liz-san." I swung the heavy blade around excitedly before finally it folds and finally rests on my arm again.

She chuckled with a tone of pride inserted. "You bet, coach!" She replied. "So, you seem awfully cheery after getting your sword repaired. Why's that?"

I went silent. "To tell you the truth, tomorrow, at 10 o'clock sharp, we'll launch an operation to kill the first floor's boss. Me included."

"E-eh?!"

"Yeah. That's why we aren't holding any training sessions tomorrow. I think I should also retire for the day too."

"But isn't it dangerous?!"

"That's why the ones going are the high-leveled players. Sure the risk is high, but we need to advance." I replied, my tone suddenly got all serious. Gosh I sound so weird, this high-pitched voice doesn't do anything to make me look serious. I mean dear God, why make me to sound like a girl? I mean ME, out of all people? Ahaaaa, time to get all depressed about it.

I could see her face going all tense.

"Don't worry, we'll be going in large numbers, with all of the support we have right now, casualties should be able to kept at a bare minimum." I reassured her.

Her silence is making me feel a bit uneasy. "Coach?" She asked quietly, which is weird, because she's usually cheery and bright.

"Yeah?"

Silence again. "Just be sure to kick his ass, alright?!" She clenched her hands into fists. "And be sure to come back to our training field after you're done!"

I grinned. "You bet, Liz-san!"

* * *

I exited the forge after saying goodbye both to Lisbeth and the smith, now, to more pressing matters, I haven't eat at all today. I should really go to a tavern or something between that line. Walking down the torch lit streets I could see some members of today's meeting trading drinks with each other, including that stupid looking guy, Kibaou. It's good to see everyone managed to get along that fast, really.

I entered the tavern to see some of the players turning their heads to me, but continued on with their own business. I walked up to the counter to find an NPC barkeeper greeting me.

"Evening, kid." He greeted, smiling at me. "Wat'cha drinkin' for tonight? Got the finest Ales here at my tavern."

I just shook my head politely. "I'll just have a cup coffee, thank you."

"A lightweight, huh?" He asked, that grin of his is surely warming the place up.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." I chuckled.

"Sure, kiddo, one coffee comin' right at ya!" He replied in a friendly manner. Once again, GM, your AI developing skills are pretty damn impressive. I'll need to ask you the engine for this game.

I sat on the bar stool and waited for my order, but then my red eye picked up a small figure, sitting alone at the corner of the bar. The more I stare at her, I feel something banging inside my chest for God knows what reason. Huh... She's not eating anything at all in particular.

The barman came back with a fresh cup of coffee in his hands. "Here ya go, kid, one cup o' coffee."

"Thanks, but..." I threw in a few more hundred Cols. "Could you also throw me another cup of tea and two warm breads?" I requested. "Oh, and you keep the change."

He stared at me, before answering. "Sure thing, kiddo." He smiled, going back to the kitchen. Another minute and he came back. "Here, kid. So... Fancying someone?" He asked, somewhat teasingly.

"That girl over there..." I pointed to the small girl.

He pouts."Oh... Her... She's been here since afternoon but hasn't ordered anything, or eat anything at all."

I stood up from the bar stool. "Right. Thanks for the meal, by the way. Keep the change."

So, the girl that came into my image? Short light brown hair, with two pigtails tied with a red ribbon, generic level 10 clothes, just like most of the beginners all around. She doesn't seem to notice me, since she's just staring towards nowhere. I made my presence known by awkwardly clearing my throat. She turned her head to face me, and those crimson irises of hers... Have a similar shade to my left eye.

"Is this seat taken?" I asked politely, and casually, like I would always do.

She shook her head. "No." She gave a tiny smile, possibly trying to be friendly.

So I sat. Since we aren't really interacting at each other, that makes a thing a little bit awkward. Wow, it sure is hard to breath with this damn dress shirt. I reached for my inventory and placed a bread as well as the tea in front of her. "Here."

She looks at me quizzically. "Huh?"

"The barman there said that you haven't ate anything since afternoon, seriously, a young girl like you should eat." I spoke seriously, although, again, my high pitched voice is doing nothing to support it.

She looked over to the bread in front of her, then back to me, then back to the bread again.

"Go on." I reassured her.

Is that a flustered face I just saw? Nah, maybe I'm just imagining things. "Th-thanks!" She replied, bowing her head down slightly to me.

"No concern. Really."

A few more minutes pass away in silence as we eat our meals, the only thing that made the tavern lighted up were the chatters between players and of course, the soft BGM playing at the background, and finally, the sounds of people eating inside.

"So, who are you? You seem to be pretty young to play SAO." I asked, somewhat curious, I mean, yeah she does look pretty young, considering she's a few inch shorter than me.

She looked at me, and being somewhat reluctant. "Silica." She replied hastily. "Aren't you one of the guys that're attacking the dungeon tomorrow?"

"Oh you went to the meeting too?"

Silica shook her head a few times. "No, I just saw you walking out of the meeting grounds in a hurry just this morning."

"Ah, so I've seen."

She noticed the emblem beside my health bar, a crossed B, signalling that I'm a beta-tester, most of the players wouldn't want to use this emblem, because... because... I don't know why... Pfft, why should I care?

"So... Uhm, are you... A beta-tester?" She asked, somewhat scared.

Are beta players really that menacing? I mean just look at me! I look like a damn puppy with a damn heterochromia disease. "Uh-huh." I answered plainly.

"Oh... Ne-nevermind then... I don't want to be a burden or some sort."

I sighed. "Now who gave you that idea? Of course you're not going to be one. I'd be happy to answer some questions for you."

With her face suddenly lit up, she finally asked me things regarding the game, mostly about healing and battling system, I can see that Silica here is a bit frail when it comes to that sort of things. So I decided to explain everything in the most slowest way possible in order for her to understand. During the talk I found out that she's currently not in a party. I would like to invite her into mine, but since we're talking about the boss here...

"It's getting late Silica-kun. Why don't you go rent a room to stay?"

She fidgets in place. Ah, I know... I smirked knowingly. Once again, I opened my inventory, and transferred a few of my Cols to her, enough to rent the inn for a few nights as well as t buy some good accessories from the item shop. With a surprised look of hers, I only kept the usual 'ass-hole' smuggly looking face I had. I threw in a level 15 dagger and armor for her to use.

"U-uhm... Senpai...? Wh-what?"

Senpai? Well... At least that sounded better than coach. "Take it, you'll be needing it more than I do." I said. "Look, it's getting late, so we can talk later, alright, Silica-kun?"

She stared outside the window for a couple of seconds, somewhat reluctant to leave the bar herself. "Okay, then..." She said, somewhat disappointed.

I chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find a chance to talk to each other again. And just stay positive, I'm sure you're bound to find a party sooner or later. During battles, just try to find an opening, the enemies here are tough... Tough, but not invincible."

"Alright, then, senpai. Uhmm... Well..." She trailed off, fiddling with her own fingers, I tilt my head to the side, which made me look like a damn curious child, I do feel stupid after doing that sometimes, but seriously, it can't be helped. My reflexes just kicked in. Don't ask me, since elementary, I've been doing this the time I got myself curious into something.

"Yeah?" I asked, still with a tilted head. I wonder why the hell am I still doing this, I mean I'm looking at her _DIAGONALLY_ for God's sake, and it's really tripping me over.

"Wh-what... What's wrong... W-with..."

"What's wrong with what?"

She went flustered, it's obvious now, lol. "...Wi-with the color of your left eye?"

Seriously?

* * *

**Server One : Passed ; Authenticating players to the next server . . .**

* * *

**-Dev's Log-**

Hurr... Durr, update, lol. So I was like... _7AM, waking up in the morning, gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs, gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal_- Ahem... Please do not mind that. [Seriously, though, if you notice the random reference, you're awesome.] So I woke up, and literally hauled ass on writing this chapter, so forgive me if this chapter quality sucked, I seriously think it is, though...

Nothing noteworthy except meeting some new faces. By I mean faces I mean just Silica. Cue me crying on the floor now. Aside on being hinting on something further on the nameless OC I posted up in this chapter, there's really nothing new. Just some few interactions between characters. So there's no need to explain much of this chapter any further, yeash?

Well, that's about it, I guess, hoped you guys enjoyed the still proto story, Bring on the flames, cause this story sucks big time, lol... No seriously. This story sucks.


	3. Battle of the First Floor

Hnnnnngggggghhhhhh- **DAMN IT, MY SPINE!** That's what I hate about waking up! Everyday I would just crack my own damn spine! Wait... I can't feel pain in this game. IT'S GOOD, BRO, LOLZ. I yawned loudly, using my hand to shove my black hair away from my sights. My heterochomic eyes meeting the warm ray of sun. Wait... Does that means... I'm staring directly... Into the damn ... sun?

**_IT BURNS!_**

Disoriented, my hand slammed into the floor, I swear, I could see freaking binary codes on the 1st person screen. Looks like the game went all 404 error - vision not found. But my vision came back on with several statics on screen, well, at least I'm not blinded by it. So, where am I, and what am I doing? Today is the D-Day, and I rented a room on the town's inn. Okay, because of Silica's paranoia, she demanded me to stay at the same inn with her. Damn her cute eyes, you know that's also one of my '_few_' weaknesses.

Of course, I'm not sleeping in the same room as hers. I'll get arrested for pedophilic sexual harassment. I mean seriously. She doesn't look older than 13! And seeing those wanting gazes from all of the other players yesterday night, I think it's a good idea for her to stay in the same inn as mine. What time is it? Oh, 08:43, I still have some time for breakfast and do random stuff. And yeah, by I mean random stuff, I mean, walking around town like an idiot.

I could hear some rattling sounds from the outsides though... Weird... I slid my white dress shirt on, and then my trousers, moving onto my personal dark blue trench coat, shoes, and oh of course, my dark blue snowboarding glasses. At least with this, people'll have smaller chances to notice my heterochromic eyes. And finally, the most important thing... The nameless sword. I got a good feeling about this sword ever since Lisbeth repaired it for me. Damn one amazing smith that one girl.

Locking the oversized sword into my right arm, and donning the metal gauntlet on my left, I opened the door, now, I should probably say goodbye to Silica first. Damn, even if it's just for one night, I'm gonna miss that cute girl. But when I got out from my room, all I found in front of Silica's door is this.

A bunch of guys wearing stupid looking and colored armors, trying to pick the lock of someone's room. Silica's room. _HER ROOM_. Two guys looked around my age, two other looked much older than me. Almost reaching twenty. Maybe even more than twenty.

"How long?"  
"Not long now!"  
"Come on, come on!"  
"I just need to see her face..."

**_You._ _F***ING. CREEPS!_** (Please note that this story is rated T for a reason.) I swear. every step I took to them made cracking sounds and the floor, ACTUALLY cracked after each steeps. With my eyes widen significantly, I quickly narrowed them. I cleared my throat... Very softly... Very delicately... Very quietly... Very... Threateningly... Very... Intimidatingly... Very... Blood-Lustly... GM, I'm gonna send four guys to heaven if you allow that.

"Ahem..." I unfold my sword to my arm's reach, so fast and hard, I could see _flame sparks_ coming out from it. "Excuse me... But may I ask what are you four doing?" I asked VERY... Softly...

Four of them turned their gaze to me in surprise. Every breath that came out of my mouth screamed '**KILL. KILL. KILL. TEAR THEIR ORGANS, EAT THEIR EYEBALLS.**' I was grinning insanely. That's not good. At least for them... Mwahaha... Ohohooo... rofl. So, after a sudden rush of rage and adrenaline made its way into my head...

"Tch." One of the older players tutted out, brandishing his own sword as well. "What's your problem, kid?"

* * *

So, I threw in a health potion for the four of them, and they're left unconscious on the floor. The four of them has 1% health left. I was being _too_ merciful. But... Wait, is Silica actually alright?! Fu**! Damn it, me, you shouls really pay more attention to your surroundings. I literally blast the door down with a single swipe from my gr8 sword (lol), and ran inside with a panicked and flustered face. I don't even know what am I doing right now...

"**_SILICA-KUN! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!_**" My high pitched, girl like voice screamed in horror as my different colored eyes scanned the corners of the small tidy room for any signs of the girl I just met last night. Come on, come on, where is she?!

Then, I saw a moving figure on the bed, and, a drowsy and groggy Silica came to my image. God, if I'm not crying in happiness and relief now, I should be soon. But then... I realize something important... She's not wearing anything aside from her undergarments... Holy crap.

"S-senpai...?" She asked drowsily, eyes half opened and staring at me. Don't get me wrong, she also looked cute without her red ribbons... But, too bad I'm going to die after seeing this unbecoming sight.

Quick, unnamed main character! Use your hands to shield your eyes! "Great idea, author!" I cover my eyes and turned my body away from her.

This is the author, since he's not looking at her, I'll just explain things on 3rd person Point of View. Silica's eyes now finally fully opened. She stared at her new found beta player friend for a couple of seconds. He had his sword ready in hand. And then to the broken down door of her room, and then, she HAD to look down at her half-naked body. With her face suddenly turning red, and her eyes tearing up... We know what's going to end for him... Poor him, ohohoo, let me sip this coffee of mine.

"**S-SENPAI! Y-YOU PERVERT!**"

* * *

**Sword Art Online: Virtually Real**

**-Logging into Server Two-**

**Server Name : Battle of the First Floor**

**-Log In Complete. Please, Enjoy The Game-**

* * *

So, now, Me and Silica are now walking down the streets with the village, Silica had her cheeks puffed and her face still red. Of course, for the past few minutes, I've been desperately trying to explain to her that I didn't do that on purpose, of course, it's hard with this stinging sensation on my right cheek. There's a huge hand mark on my face. Yep. I mean it's obvious that see saw those guys on the front door and the broken down door, right? RIGHT? I... Damn it. Now I do feel bad.

"Silica-kun... Please!" I begged, literally doing anything to change her foul mood. "It was just a misunderstanding! I swear on my non-existing PS4 console!" If I was in an anime, I would be crying in comical tears right now, seriously.

She wiped her tears off. But her face clearly shows some distrust towards me. "A-are you sure...?"

"You saw it for yourself don't you?" I asked, tone still desperate. "Those guys are trying to break into your room. I was... Afraid that you'd get hurt so..." My tone suddenly took its turn to be grim and somewhat sad. "...Sorry."

Looks like this caught her off guard. "Wh-what?"

"I... I said I'm sorry, Silica-kun." I repeated the word again, finally my voice actually sounded like a guy this time. "Seriously. I'm sorry."

She went silent as well, when I turned my face- Agh! There's the stinging sensation after that slap again. "It's... Okay, senpai." I saw her regaining her smile back. Good. "But... D-don't you do that again, okay?!"

"I swear on my non-existing Xbox 720's name!" I smacked my chest... Ow. That hurts... Seriously, that hurts. "I won't do it again, rest assured, Silica-kun!" I smiled casually as well.

I could feel like we're being watched though... "You there, behind the market counter. You can show yourself now." I declared without even looking, now brandishing my newly repaired folding sword. I also pulled Silica to the back, shielding her.

"S-senpai?"

"Equip your dagger, Silica-kun." I commanded coldly, and a bit steely. And she complied to do so. Both of our gazes turned into the fruit market's stall, with the NPC now somewhat looking afraid. Some other players also began to take a few steps away from both us and the market's counter. "Whatever you do, stay behind my back, understand?"

She nods at me, although scared. "R-right, senpai."

Just then, a figure can be seen standing up from the behind of the market's stall. It's another girl. Shoulder length very dark brown, nearly black hair, I'll just assume it's raven colored, with two small white moebius strips used to make two small twin tails on her sides. Two matching black irises, her clothing is mainly composed of green, red, and black. She has no shoulder pads, though. I've never seen an armor set like those before...

She cautiously approached us, I used my left hand to hold Silica while my right hand on my front, the nameless sword brandished, this somewhat creates a barrier between us. Most of the players present just stood away from us, and continued on with their daily activities, although some also stopped and watched the series of events. I had my eyes narrowed. Who is she?

"I mean you no harm." She stated, her voice sounded a bit frail and fragile if you ask me.

After a few seconds of more silence, and after looking at her up and down with a piercing analyzing look... I may have glared at her too much since she's all fidgeting and stuff. I finally sheath my bastard sword, letting it rest on my arm once again, and cued Silica to do the same with her dagger. Looking at the time, 9:27 I know that I'll probably don't have the time to deal with this anymore.

"Uhm... If you're trying to stalk me, then you're doing it at the wrong time... I GTG like now." I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. "I mean seriously."

Silica just gripped on my trench coat tighter... Oh crap, she's not going to rip it, right? "You're going, senpai?"

"Yeah, I need to get to my party ASAP. We'll be launching the assault in like thirty minutes." I nod somewhat reluctantly, because I don't to leave her as well. "Sorry, I'll return to the village once it's done, though... I promise." I smiled at her. "Now run along, now." I feel stupid and rude after doing that.

"R-right... Good luck, senpai!" She smiled back at me, she then ran off, disappearing into the crowd of players.

Turning into the girl which is standing at the same height as me, or maybe just with an inch or two taller than me. She was looking a bit skeptical. Her face showing that she wanted to talk to me about something. "What?" I asked her, checking the time again, I really should jet. "U-um, as much I find it glad yet at the same time creepy that someone is stalking me, I really GTG for now... Can it wait if you want to talk to me?"

"W-wait!" She demanded. "You're heading to the dungeon, right? We can talk while we walk there." You read my mind girl.

"Rightttt." Whoa there, cut out with the suspicious and sarcastic voice, me.

* * *

So, we're running a bit late... I'm blaming it all on... No... Be a gentleman, me, I blame it all on me. Wait... ARGH Damn it, I can't really blame anyone else, right? Yeah... Just blame it all on me. I'm willing to take responsibility. But for some reason, she hasn't talk to me at all during our slow trip. My eyebrows were twitching due to the palpable irony, since she said she wants to talk to me, and a bit desperate if you ask me.

"So... What's your name...?" Seriously? Is that what the best thing to do right now, me?

She fidgets. "Can't you just see the username?" She replied in a fast manner.

Point taken... Hovering my hand above her avatar... This is uncomfortable. Seriously. "Sinon-san?" I asked.

"That's correct. I... Um, sorry for following you from the inn."

I sighed. "I count that as stalking, Sinon-san, sorry." I deadpanned.

Flustered face? I must be imagining things again. Damn I must be tired, seeing girls going all flustered. "I-I'm not stalking you." She retorted. "I just want to talk to you regarding the level 16 issue." Sinon replied with a now calmed down voice.

I slowed my pace. "Continue." I spoke calmly, yet my girly voice says otherwise. "But how do you know about this?"

"Your greatsword." Ah, silly me. Of course. This freaking behemoth can be seen from a mile away.

"What about it?" I asked.

Sinon also slowed her walking pace. "Uhm... I just want to show you something rather similar to your reward for reaching level 16 during the betas."

Whoa, hold it right there, girl. "You signed up during the beta, Sinon-san?" I paused. "More importantly, you also reached the level 16 during the closed session?"

"That's correct." She nods, acknowledging my question. "And... To be frank, I want to talk to someone regarding this matter for quite a long time now."

I opened my mouth yet nothing came out. "My ears're all yours." I finally forced those words out.

She sighed in relieve. "Thank you. I've been trying to reach some other level 16 players but they rejected me."

"Why's that?"

She opened her inventory. "If you promise you won't reject my request... I'll show it." She began to whisper, which forced me to draw my face closer to her.

"No promises." Was that a tease or a deadpan? Argh I can't think, the situation and the atmosphere won't support me for some reason.

"J-just don't get too close to me, please." She shoved me away. What? I wasn't going to do anything stupid to her. Meh. Girls are always like that... Woohoo, I'm already being friendzoned. Wh-why am I already being depressed about this?

Back to more pressing matters. She clicked on an item, and a light began to shroud her. And once the light dies down, I couldn't believe what I see next. Is that... A freaking bow?! _A FREAKING BOW?!_ **_ON A GAME THAT'S SUPPOSED TO ONLY HAVE SWORDS__?!_** UnnamedOC has stopped working. Would you like to send crash report to Windows? NO. I'm not dead yet! GM, you have a lot to explain to me! The AIs are still overpowered!

But seriously, I was shocked as hell. Like not going to lie. I was staring at her wide eyed, mouth slightly gaping also tilted, head cocked to the side, shoulders slumping forward. I look like an idiotic old timer that's going to die because of cardiac arrest... Wait, am I actually having cardiac arrest right now?

"Sinon-san..." I spoke between all of the stutters. "Is that... A bow?"

She went all flustered, this time it's obvious, lol. The said girl looked away from me. "Y-yes..." The look on her face... Is she... Is she scared? Why?

"Can I see the stats?" Silence. "I'll take that as a yes." Hovering a finger uncomfortably above her... Nameless bow, binary coded description, and that jittery-blocky stats. Perfectly the same as my folding swords. "I know that this is probably a stupid question to ask right now. But why're you scared? I mean seriously, I'm not a cannibal here." Or am I...? Hehehe... No I'm not.

At the dry joke, which is actually my poor attempt to cheer her up, she smiled sadly at me. Wow, that worked? I must be a stand-up comedian genius. "I think you get the situation here, Nameless-san."

Nameless... That's the name she gave to me on the spot? Damn... I like it. "Forgive me for being oblivious, but no." Seriously. Why? Now you're getting me worried and all. I'm not that type to usually get concerned over something and / or to someone in general, but since we're talking about the game that has a potential to take our lives here... Better tread carefully.

She bit her lower lip before continuing. "Don't you see this bow? Everyone could only assume that I hack into this game. Everytime I want to join a party they would always reject me, with the reason stating that they're afraid to be banned, since banned means death in the real life."

"But that bow is actually just a reward for you for reaching level 16 during the beta?" I completed her words for her.

A nod. "You're correct. Since I'm carrying a ranged weaponry for a close quarter combat only game and all of that."

I gritted my teeth and narrowed my eyes, irritated. "Atrocious." I hissed. "Seriously, I don't see a reason for them to hate you just because of that." I said, looking at her with my different colored eyes. My tone once again, turning into a guy. Am I a freaking Pinochio or something? Turning to a real boy after something serious happened? ...Well, minus the whole part of being a wooden doll of course.

"Nameless-san?"

I exhaled, then finally gave a sincere smile, trying to defuse the whole tense situation. "You still really haven't told me the main reason why do you want to talk to me, Sinon-san."

She looks at me bewildered. Was that a stupid question...? Yeah it was, probably... "I... See that you're going to launch an assault on the first floor's boss, am I correct?"

I nod, not wasting a second. "Caught me red handed."

"Well... I was wondering if I can also join the attack..."

Really? She went out of her way just to ask me that? I feel both honored yet at the same time confused. "Yeah... I was also wondering if I can actually go to the moon from this forest." I replied unamusedly.

"I-I'm being serious here...!" She half-yelled at me.

I raised my in a defensive manner. "I know. But if you want to join the attack, why ask me? I mean like, if you ask me, I'll just say yes, since we're gonna need all the help we can get. But we've gotta do something about that bow, though."

"That's what I've been trying to talk to you into!"

I sighed. "Just use another, weapon, simple as that, and Huzzah! you're in the battle group." I slapped my forehead.

Once again, she only looked away from me. Don't tell me...

"...You don't have any other weapons except that bow...?" I questioned, a bit softly this time, seriously this time, I sound like a girl, no like seriously, my voice is so soft, it even matched Silica's pitch. I'm a fourteen nearly fifteen year old guy, damn it.

She nods. Oh boy...

I silently opened my inventory. "Look... I uh..." I trailed off, my hands hovering above the trade button... Oh to hell with it, I'm giving her a level 20 dagger and shield. "You hold onto these for now. I'll try to get you into my party. Now let's go. The assault should begin in like 10 minutes."

She took the dagger and shield into her hands while staring at me, bewildered.

"What? Players need to help each other right?" I shrugged. "_Besides... I think We really do need each other's help if we are to survive this game._" I whispered quietly to no one in particular. But I think she noticed that, considering her change of expression. But she stayed silent and all of that. "You know how to use a dagger and the shield right?"

"I... I think so."

I nod at her. "Now let's go."

* * *

So a light jog into the forest happened, with me being a sucky guy with sucky stamina, I can't say for sure that we'll make it in time, seriously.

"So..." Pant. "Sinon-san..." Pant. "How old..." Pant. "Are you..." Pant.

Seriously this light panting of mine actually sounds like a freaking baby whale having a seizure. Not that I know what baby like sounds like. Especially when it's having a seizure, let alone. Yeah. I just made that up.

"Fifteen." She answered me plainly. She doesn't sound tired at all. Seriously. Damn me.

Just then, we finally saw the main convoy, I gave her a look that orders her to hurry, I sprinted over to them. Although... Weirdly, Kirito and Asuna are at the back of the main group, for some odd reasons.

"Kirito-san! Asuna-san!" I yelled from the distance enough to reach their hearing range, though.

The black haired young man and the hooded figure girl beside him both look at our approach, Sinon seems to be using my body to shield her from their line of sights, though. I frown at her, looking back slightly, I gave her a look that says '_Both of us stands at the same height, so it's impossible for you to hide behind me._' Or something between that line. I mean sure, she's slimmer than me, but in terms of the color of our clothes... **DARK BLUE AND GRAY** doesn't exactly match with **GREEN AND BLACK**.

"Oh, morning, Uhm... Dash-san." Kirito greeted me. Dash? Oh yeah, my username's 'dash'.

I guess I should apologize for another poor time managing event. "Sorry, Kirito-san. Had a few run in backs in the village." I said sheepishly. "Oh yeah, I brought a... Friend... She's uh... Pretty good with the... Dagger, and she's... Pretty good with recon-ing?" I put a hand on the said girl's shoulder, although she flinched at the contact. "You wouldn't mind if she... Joins the party... Right?"

Maybe that's partially true about the recon thing, since she's an archer after all.

Both Kirito and Asuna stared at her cautiously and a bit too much for my taste.

"U-uhm... Guys, I think she's uncomfortable with all of those stares you two're givin'." I think that's pretty obvious. Even I get uncomfortable if people are staring at me. Those eyes are like a piercing glare.

"I'm... Uh, I'm Sinon... It's a... Pleasure to meet you all." She bowed her head down rather slowly.

"So... Uh, Sinon-san... These here, we have Kirito-san, and Asuna-san." I pointed at the two. "So... Uhm..." Damn it the awkwardness is agonizing. "I'll ask again... Is it okay for her to join the party? I mean, I'm sorry for the sudden and last minute call, but she also wanted to join the assault."

One final glance from the two. Kirito only gave a small smile to us. "... I can't really see a reason why not."

Thank God. Seriously, thank God. A party invite later... There, Sinon is finally here with us. I should really stop her from saying thank you multiple times...

"Now, we should plan our attack on the boss." Kirito began, his voice serious, catching all of our attention. "We leftovers are supposed to take care of the boss's helpers, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. I'll use my sword skill to knock their pole axes up, the second I do that..." He pointed at Asuna. "Switch in an strike the enemy. If he's still standing up..." He pointed at me, this time. "I'll trust you and your broadsword to do your thing."

And Sinon... "I guess, we can trust you on our flank, Sinon-san?" I asked, everyone's eyes turned to her.

Thankfully, she nods. "Right."

But then this happened. "Switch? What's that?" The question came from Asuna. All eyes on her. _Everybody in the club... All eyes on her... All eyes on her_- ahem.

"...Is this the first time you've ever been in a party...?" Our party leader asked. Asuna herself only gave an acknowledging 'hmph', and continued on walking, of course the rest of us, finding out that she's not yet accustomed to the party system... We could only assume one thing.

This is going to take a while.

* * *

After a long walk and a long explanation of the party battling system, courtesy of me and Kirito, we finally reached the door that leads to the boss chamber. At least 20 guys are standing ready before the door, swords at hand. I could see some of them eager, some of them scared. This emotional whirlwind... Nevermind... Diabel is standing before the door, his sword planted at the floor, and a confident look perked up in his face.

"Listen everyone... I just have one thing to say... **Let's win!**" Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. I like it.

Our party exchanged glances for one last time, before nodding at each other. And with that, Diabel opens the door to the main boss chamber, FUDGE, it's dark... I don't need this crap... Seriously... I have issues with darkness. But... This is seriously not the time to be afraid of the dark. Our objective is clear. Get in, kill the boss, advance. It's as simple as that. I grip the 'sword-release' button on the hilt, not wanting to unleash the greatsword's blade until it's time.

But suddenly, our boss stood up from its seat. And the room's lights came to life. Looks like it begins now. The boss... Is a freaking red colored kangaroo with obesity issues. No I'm being serious, it's a freaking red colored kangaroo. Australians, be proud. As the boss lets out a sharp cry, the name '**Illfang the Kobold Lord**' pops up in my 1st person HUD. next thing I noticed, is some crystal shards began to condense at a few of more smaller kangaroos with a knight armor and pole axes armed in their hands came to life. As expected, these are the '**Ruin Kobold Sentinels**'.

They charged in at us, the ground trembled with every step the large boss takes. Diabel held his sword high. "**_COMMENCE ATTACK!_**" We took that as our cue to charge into the boss and his little helpers as well. Things are going to heat up very damn quickly.

And so, the battle began, each sides began to exchange hits and duel for the greater power between swords. Every few seconds, there'll be some guy who got injured, they got carried back into the back lines and'll be given some potions, their place will be switched by the next person in line. The battle heats up like a raging inferno. Not that the chamber is hot, if I may say so myself. It's like a freaking ballroom with Air Conditioners all over the damn place. Or... Maybe that's just my own bedroom, I always keep the ACs running 24/7, to hell with go green, lol.

"Squad A and Squad C, switch!" Of course, Diabel would strategically command our troops, and should I say that his skills in leadership is damn impressive. "Here it comes!" Oh great, the boss's attacking. "Squad B, block it, now!" Damn nice timing, Diabel. "Squad C, keep guarding and wait for the switch... Now!" One of the other members from the team advanced forward. "Switch, draw, and prepare to attack from the side. Squad D, E, and F, keep those Sentinels away from our flanks!"

"Got it!" Looks like that's our squad's cue. Time to get a move on. Now, Kirito charged at the Sentinel, and parried its attack, sending it backwards. "Switch!" That's Asuna's cue, I believe. She immediately ran with her rapier ready in hand.

She's so freaking fast. "Number three!" Was she actually saying the number three or was that a skill's name? Her rapier's blade statrted to glow in a bright green color. And with that lightning speed, she lunged forward and strikes the enemy deep. Dude, that was sick... I thought she was only a beginner just like us.

The Sentinel's weapon was thrown away and the blow of the rapier made it lost its balance. "Now! Switch!" Asuna yelled at me. My turn!

I unfold my sword and charged in at the Sentinel. "After Image!" I declared the name of the skill I usually use, and the tip of the green crystal edge of my greatsword started to glow in a soft blue hue. The next 0.5 seconds, the sentinel's dead. What did I do? Basically, the skill made my sword's material lighter, combine it with my high leveled agility, I could charge in at the enemy so fast, that it leaves an after image of my body on the game's screen, so if the enemy's not dead, it would still be confused by my after image.

I ended my kill by dismissing the skill and sheathing back my sword, I feel stupid for striking that iconic Exia's pose, though. But our job's far from over.

"Kirito...! Watch your back!" I could hear Sinon yelling from our back, another Sentinel had spawn in at jumped towards Kirito, but it was not fast enough, seeing that Sinon was able to parry the attack and forcing it to go off balance, creating an opening for the black haired boy. Damn nice teamwork.

The battle continues on, and before we know it, red kangaroo was already at the Death Throats. I could see the last bar glowing red. Now, if things are still the same during the betas, he should now change his weapon and attack patterns.

"Everyone, stand back! I'll take this one!" Came Diabel, sprinting towards the enemy with his sword ready. Wait, aren't we supposed to surround it and kill it at once? Wait... Oh crap. The kangaroo isn't pulling out the Talwar... It's a No-Dachi! This ain't the same as the beta.

"No!" Kirito, me, and Sinon's voice boomed throughout the chamber. "This is different, jump back as fast and far as you can!" Kirito warned, but unfortunately, all of those fell into deaf ears, as Diabel was already activating his sword's skill, noticing this, kangaroo began to jump all over the place... Just like a damn kangaroo, in high speed, It's... Too fast to be caught in eyesight... It's just like a red flash jumping around.

The next thing we know, was... "ARRGH!" Diabel was thrown all over the place, screaming in pain and agony... Dude, you can't feel pain in this game, that guy's overreacting. My eyebrow twitched unamusedly. The blue haired leader of our group was now on the floor, health dropping fast and digital cut marks all over his body.

"Diabel-san!" Our party rushed to his side. "Why'd you try to do it alone?" Kirito questioned, giving his health potion to the downed leader.

But his offer was rejected by him, his hands were all trembling and his breath was rapid. "You were... A beta-tester... Weren't you...? You... Know what I was trying to do..."

"You were after the last attack bonus rare item..." Kirito summed it up. "...So you were a beta-tester too...?"

Diabel only smiled weakly. "Please... Defeat... The boss... For everyon- Mugh?!" I got tired of his over dramatic speech and shoved a healing potion down his throat.

"Dude, Diabel-san, seriously. You can't feel pain in this game." I deadpanned. "Stop trying to be like a hero and dramatic and just drink the damn potion." The red liquid was chugged down by the downed leader, and his health started to recover to the yellow stages. "I get what're you trying to do, but that was just plain dumb." I frowned, continuing on with my rant.

Of course... I didn't know that my party was all staring at me, dumbfounded by the image of me, forcing down a healing potion over his throat. It was sure a sight to see.

"We don't need anymore deaths." I finished, this time calm and quietly. "So just lay down, and we'll finish this fight."

Kirito looked at me, his eyes burning with determination, he nods at me, and our gazes are now focused on the raging kangaroo, that's is slaughtering everyone in its way. He's quickly joined by Asuna, Sinon, and me respectively.

"I'll go too."  
"I won't let you do this alone."  
"Kirito-san, my short supply of oxygen is yours to command."

He looked back at us, and simply smiled. "Thanks, guys." The four of us charged in for the kill. "We'll do it just like the Sentinels." He informed, and an acknowledging 'hmph' came from the four of us.

First, Kirito activated his sword skill to parry the kangaroo's attack, then he switched with Asuna who charged in with her rapier ready with her skill. I was following behind her closely, and Sinon was also trailing behind me. Unfortunately, the boss was quick to regain its lost balance and was about to struck Asuna down, only to meet contact with Sinon's shield, damn, this girl's good, but still the shockwave of the blast had sent her cloak flying. This also gave her and opening, Asuna activated her skill and shortly followed by me.

A good look at Asuna, she's a young teen girl, with a long strawberry blonde, nearly orange hair, bright orange orbs visible on her eyes. With the boss now knocked back, we stood ready with our blades drawn in our skill colors.

"He's coming back!" Kirito clashed swords with the kangaroo, and I created an opening by shielding the young man with my greatsword in its shield mode. I could hear some faint cracks from the gauntlets, but now's not the time. Asuna charged in for another attack, followed by Sinon with her dagger, we continued to clash our swords in full force. Skills after skills, we thought we got the upper hand because the boss was already at its defense. But we thought wrong, when Kirito and I was about to finish it off, we walked right into its trap.

The kangaroo activated its skill and his No-Dachi shined in a very bright violet color, oh crap. I need to... Freaking shield Kirito. I sheathed my sword, deactivate my skill and jumped in front of him, and just in freaking time. This is going to HURT!

"Argh!" Both of us yelled, although I took the worse blow, like this large gash on my shoulder, I think my folding greatsword is also doing badly. Both of us are thrown back, with Kirito hitting Asuna to soften his landing, while I... Directly hit the floor. Face first. After that humiliating face plant, my HUD turns back on, to reveal my health going to yellow, same as Kirito's. I could see Sinon running towards me.

"Nameless-san!" She exclaimed in concern. "Are you alright?" She tried to help me up, but I shoved her hand away softly. Hope she's not mad at me.

I spat on the ground. "This is nothing...! Besides, we can't actually feel pain in this game, right?!" I was grinning like a psycho, maybe that menacing that she took a step back from me. I need to apologize to her later.

The kangaroo was just about to charge in at us again, only to be parried by Egil. Fudge, I need to thank God on that perfect timing.

"We'll hold them back until you can recover!" The towering man stated loudly, with five more men attacking the boss at once. Alright, stand up... STAND UP! Why can't I feel my legs?! There! I can finally feel it again. Now.

So much for tryin' to be a hero, Egil and his men was quickly knocked back by the boss. Shite, I need to think of something, fast. I have an idea...

"Sinon-san... Your bow. Now." I held my hand out.

"E-eh?"

"Hurry!"

1 item alert on my inventory... Alright... It's here... I pulled the bow out into my hands, dismissing my great sword at the same time, and aimed it at the kangaroo. Of course, with Kirito and Usana watching in horror and shock. Good thing that the arrows spawned automatically. Now... Take a deep breath... I closed my left eye and held my breath in. I got only one chance. Miss this, and six more people will die. I gritted my teeth.

"**_Gundam Dynames! Lockon Stratos! Targeted And Firing!_**" I launched the shining arrow to the kangaroo. Using my most favorite anime as a reference quote in the process. God I feel stupid. The arrow hits the monster by its abdomen and sent it flying straight to the ground. "**_NOW ! ! !_**" I signaled my party to charge in.

And then, Kirito came in running and screaming like a maniac as he butchered the kangaroo into pieces. With one last sharp cry, the boss explodes into nothing raw data pieces, signalling our victory.

* * *

There was a full 10 seconds of silence. Before a word 'Congratulations' appeared. Everyone finally began cheering, holy crap! The amount of XPs my party got! It's overabundance! And look at all these Cols! I guess I should congratulate Kirito for getting the last blow. Slinging Sinon's bow over at my shoulder, I walked my way over to him. Sinon herself was following behind me.

"Congrats." I winked.

Egil also walked over to us. "That was some fine swordsmanship. Congratulations. The victory belongs to you."

And then the whole room began to cheer for our party. Yes! Yes! Bring on the praise! My body feels so alive with your morale support! My ego loves it! I think metaphorical birds are chirping beside me. Multiple cheers, applause and more erupted from the players. But it was quickly stopped by someone.

"This is a set-up!" Kibaou... Way to ruin my ego. "You must be planning this all along to get the item, don't you?!" The whole room made a way for him. "And you!" He pointed at me. "Why are you using a damned ranged weapon in this game?!" He yelled angrily. "All of you knew the attack patterns of this boss... There's only one way to explain this... You're a beta tester!" He continued distastefully. "You were just aiming for the last kill, aren't you?! Hogging all the items and the XPs."

Damn it, this is going south really quick. Everyone suddenly turned to support that stupid bearded guy too. Damn it. Why blame it all on the beta testers?! I even see Diabel himself shrinking in the back. Tch... Kirito... Sinnon. They... Damn it. I sighed... Looks like I have to carry the own burden, huh?

"And? What IF I actually just used the bow?" I took a step forward, tone dark and sarcastic. "I actually enjoyed it. And what IF I'm actually aiming for the last kill? This guy here just got lucky." I glared and Kirito, but inside my eyes are pain and sadness. "I'll get you back for that." I chuckled grimly, and not in a sane tone at all. I opened my goggles, letting it rest on my neck to reveal my different colored eyes to intimidate them. "And what IF I'm actually a beta tester?" I pointed at the crossed 'B' sign. "I've made it into floor sixteen on the beta alone. That's why I know everything... More than any information broker..." I paused. "That's right... I'm a lone wolf..." I finished, using my free hand to swipe my hair menacingly.

I looked back to my party. Sinnon, Kirito, and Asuna were all wide eyed and there's horror inside their eyes.

"Th-that's why...?!"  
"Y-You beta-testing crap!"  
"Why are you even here you trash?!"  
"You cheater!"  
"A beta tester and a cheater?!"  
"That's a beater!"

Beater... A sign of humiliation. "Beater, huh? I like that name." Once again, I grin in an insane manner, sending chills to the other players, including myself. I didn't know that I could be this harsh. "So... From now on... Don't confuse me with other beta-testers..." I dismissed the bow and pulled out my heavy broadsword again. "So... See you later... n00bs." I insulted, walking away laughing maniacally.

Unnoticed by them, I was holding back tears. I had to carry this name, Beater until I can finally log out. I walk solely to the stairs leading to the next floor, I know that my party's following me. I stopped my steps.

"Stop, guys. Really. This is for the greater good." I replied grimly. "From now on, beta-testers and normal players should be treated in the same manner. They need someone to carry that burden, and I'll gladly carry it. Not that I care about it anyway." I turned my face to them, smiling casually. "And of course, Kirito-san, sorry about that. That was just a joke."

I opened my inventory, and gave Sinon's bow back to her. "With this, bow users should also be treated normally, seeing how I did that in the first place." I smiled at the raven haired girl.

"Nameless-san?"

"Oh, don't gimme that look, people. You guys looked like the guys over at John F. Kennedy's funeral, seriously." I mean look at their sad faces. I know... After declaring that I'm a lone wolf... I need to march alone for the most of the time. "Now if you guys'll excuse me... I need to find the next town on the second floor. I'm damn hungry." Considering I haven't ate anything.

I opened the door, and closed it behind me. I'm now walking alone, Kirito had dissolved the party. But... Huh? Is this a friend request? Weird I thought that thing is just for Facebook and stuff. This is from... Sinon?

With the caption... "**Thanks :)**"

_HHHHHHNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH ! ! ! !_

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**Server Two : Passed ; Authenticating players to the next server . . .**

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**-Dev's Log-**

Herrow, it is I, a random author, bringing you the third chapter! Now, I know what you're thinking... Fast update!

Introducing Sinon! The lovely character from SAO : Infinite Moment game for the PSP system, she'll be also debuting in the GGO anime this year! Now, I know that in SAO, you aren't supposed to be able to use ranged weapons, but when I saw her using the bow in the PSP games I was like, okay. That's it. lol. Bows are now official. Lore breaking? Yes. But lores are made to be broken. Wait...

Aside from being level headed and friendly, Sinon is also rather frail if I may so myself. Interactions with her during the PSP game showed that she stutters kinda a lot on awkard situations. I don't know, that's just my take on her. So if you find her rather OOC, forgive me, and send in the flames.

And no, I was not being racist. This fiction work is solely for recreation purposes. Any jokes made here are not serious.

Seriously, this story sucks.


	4. Of Flowers and Criminals

It's been a few years... It's now February 23rd 2024, and lol, we made it to floor 50s. Casualties have been kept to a bare minimum, thanks to... Us, maybe. We frontliners are usually composed of us high leveled beta testers and lonewolves. Shocking thing is, Kirito's now level 78, he's wearing the coat of the Midnight, the drop item from the first level's boss. and he's also at the front lines. Good to see a familiar face, really, seeing Kirito and all. Oh and if you're asking how am I doing? Ooh, I have stalkers from FanFiction too? Lol, am I popular or something? Oh I'm doing just fine. Aside from me being a little bit more experienced now.

Oh, and yeah, I'm now sixteen years old. My birthday was at February 16th, A week before today. But the greatest gift of all time is me being finally damn taller. A few messages and wishes from my friends such as Lisbeth, Asuna, Kirito, Silica, and of course Sinon. Nothing noteworthy, I'm still wielding that folding greatsword. Even though I'm a level 74 now, I still can't really separate myself from this sword. Sure it breaks down often, but I just got it repaired. Today, I just wandered around on the 35th floor for God knows what reason along with Kirito.

How did Kirito got ahead of me? Well, mostly I let him get all the last hit on the bosses, I still want to repay him back for the first floor... Oh? Have I changed my clothes? Well, I changed my trench coat to a dark gray hoodie with blue linings visible. That's it. Lol.

We exchanged friendly conversations with each other. Good thing he came with me. I wasn't really looking forward to go through this forest alone. Because... You know... Darkness and forest doesn't really match well... Damn it, GM had better not install a damn ghost AI in this game, do that, and I'll make sure that it's a mistake that he was born into this world. Seriously.

"_Pina!_" Then, both of us heard that sharp cry.

Me, being a scaredy cat when it comes to this, immediately yelped like a girl jumped and gripped Kirito's black trench coat. Damn it. Ghost... If you are there, I will banish you in the name of God! My grip tightens, but I got this look from Kirito himself that says that it's not a ghost. I let him go and bowed to him apologetically lots of times. But... Yeah... That sounds familiar. We could also hear some hostile growls

This came from the dark ape men. Looks like someone is in trouble. Both of us readied our swords. We don't need anymore casualties. A nod to each other.

* * *

Three dead apes and one saved damsel later... We sheathed our swords. My eyes could only went wide when I saw an eyeful of brown hair and twin pig tails. Th-that can't be... That's... Silica?! She stared at us blankly, tears falling from her light crimson eyes. I can see it. Pain, anguish, sadness, sense of loss, and not even a slightest hint of relieve. Something's wrong... She's also holding that glowing feather.

"Silica-kun?!" I exclaimed in surprise, immediately running up to her. "Hey, you okay?" Dumbass, of course she's not, just look at the health bar. She's on the red zone. Better give her some health potions. Like really. "Here. Drink this." I handed the red liquid to her. But she's not accepting it. I'm being rejected. ARGH, time to get depressed about it!

"P-Pina..." That whimper... She's still crying? "Pina!" She bawled. DAMN IT. Not one of my weaknesses... Please! Everything but that! My heart is aching at the sight! I had to punch a tree to become a man again! Ouch... Punching a tree hurts me. Wait. I can't feel pain, right? DAMN IT, GAMING DILEMMA, You suck!

During my issues to solve the mystery of self anxiety and gaming dilemmas, Kirito decided to talk to her. "What's that feather?" He asked softly.

"Pina... My partner." Came the reply between sobs.

I stopped myself from punching trees and draining my own HP. Well, My HP regenerates by 550 points every ten seconds anyway... Wait, did she say... Partner? I walked closer to her as well, now standing side by side besides Kirito.

"You're a beast tamer?" He asked again. "Well... I'm sorry. I wan't able to save your friend..." The same goes from me as well.

She shook her head. "No... I was being stupid, I was stupid to think that I could make it through this forest on my own. So... Thank you for saving me." She turned her face to us.

I kept my mouth shut, while Kirito crouched beside her. I decided to follow suit. "Does that feather... Happen to have an item name?"

She hovers her finger above the blue feather and the name 'Pina's Heart' appeared on top of it. There goes the tears again... DAMN IT.

"Hey, don't cry." My partner of level 75+ patted her on her back. "If Pina's heart is still there, then we can revive her." Wait. Pina's a 'she'? Seriously, I know that Pina's a pet's name, but seriously, it's a she? What the?

Her tears stopped. "R-really?"

Both me and Kirito nodded at each other. "Uh-huh. On the South Side of floor 47, there's a field dungeon called the Hill of Memories. Based on the info, I think there's a flower that blooms at the top could revive a fallen pet." I explained slowly, with the black swordsman beside me nodding.

A relieved gasp? Good. But the smile quickly faded from her face. "Floor 47..." Yeah, that's pretty far away from her level, huh...?

Kirito scratched his head. "If you give us the GP, Dash-san and I here would go there for you... But if the pet's owner isn't there, the flower won't bloom." Why do you have to be the bearer of bad news, Kirito? Just look at her face!

"That information is enough. If I work hard enough to raise my level, then I..."

"Pets could only be revived three days after death." DAMN IT, KIRITO. I would like to punch you in the face right now if it wasn't for our level difference.

"Ah... I... I see... It's all my fault... I'm sorry, Pina..."

But still... There's some other way. "Don't worry, Silica-kun. We still have three days. It's still too early to give up."

"Dash-san here's right. Besides..." He opened his inventory and gave her a new dagger. Huft, tryin to beat me, huh? "This weapon right here should worth five-six levels."

I opened my inventory as well. "And this armor set I got here... Should boost your evasive capabilities. It's worth only five levels from this floor, sorry." I also transferred her the armor I got from those random loot. Not that I need them anyway.

"Uhm.. Why would you do all of this to me?" She asked, maybe still scared from our sudden entry. I mean... Who walks to you in the middle of the night, and suddenly goes 'TAKE MY GODLY ITEMS'.

Me? No purpose. But... From the look in Kirito's face... "Well... If you promise not to laugh, I'll tell you. You included, Dash-san." W-wait, since when he noticed that I'm also curious? Is it from the metaphorical stars on my eyes? O-or is he a witch... Or maybe there's a ghost who told him... DAMN IT.

"I promise." ... "No promises, lol."

He puts a hand up to his forehead, shadowing his eyes. "It's... Because you look like my little sister."

Silence. Full 10 seconds of awkward silence. Then Silica giggled, and then it quickly erupted into a good hearted laugh. Was that funny? I thought that it's good, seriously, I mean... Seeing her as a sister and all. I kept a straight face, only with a tilted head. Damn it. I feel dizzy everytime I do that.

She smiled. "Uhm... I'm sure that this isn't anywhere near enough to pay you back, but..." Whoa, stop that, girl!

Both Kirito and I closed our trading screen, automatically declining her offer to pay us with Cols. "Whoa, seriously, Silica-kun, it's fine."

Kirito nodded in agreement with me. "He's right. This isn't entire incompatible with our reason being here." Wait... What are we doing on this level again?

"Okay, I'm sure that both of you haven't know each other yet, right? Silica-kun, this is Kirito. Kirito-san, this is Silica." I introduced them to each other.

She paused, looking at me with her crimson eyes. "Senpai? You were here the whole time too?"

Seriously?

* * *

**Sword Art Online: Virtually Real**

**-Logging Into Server Three-**

**Server Name : Of Flowers and Criminals**

**-Log In Complete. Please Enjoy The Game-**

* * *

Okay, so we arrived at the town of Mishe, to rest before tomorrow's journey to the flower fields. We were just going to get ourselves an inn to stay to, and just rest. Our journey from the front lines all the way back here isn't exactly light. So we're both tired, and hungry. I'm probably gonna go chat with some of my friends via message chat. Since we're scattered all across the floors. So yeah. It's already night time, but the city is still lively, what a place this is, really.

"Oh, there's Silica-chan!" Why do I not like that voice at all? Coming into our view, there's two unsophisticated looking guy, who looked older than all of us present. "You're late, so we got worried."

"U-um..."

"Let's party up sometime! We can go wherever you want!"

Is Silica shrinking? Should I draw my sword? "Th-that's very kind of you... But..." Her eyes fell upon both me and Kirito, seeing the opportunity, she immediately grabbed us by the hand. Which really caught me off guard. Little, she is, but heavy, she is also. I feel like Yoda after thinking about that. "I'll be party with them for a while." She admitted or rather... Lied, to them, maybe feeling rather uneasy.

Don't glare at me you pedophiles. I can do much worse with this heterochromic eyes. Wanna see them?

"S-sorry..." She smiled nervously at the two before dragging us along with her. "Sorry about that, senpai, Kirito-san."

"Was that your fans?" Kirito asked.

I pout. "Doubtful. I think they're creeps. In fact, I saw a group of them trying to get her two years ago." I shivered on that thought.

"Wow, you must be pretty popular around your age, huh?" The black swordsman joked.

"No... I think they just want me to be their mascot..." She spoke quietly. "But when they called me 'Dragon Tamer Silica' I got full of myself and..." Aww, wipe those tears off, Silica, you're making get Hepatitis A, here.

"Don't worry, Silica-kun." I stopped, patting her head a few times.

Kirito once again, agreed with me. "We'll make it in time."

"Oh yeah, Kirito-san, senpai, where do both you live?" She asked.

"Floor 50. It's a bit far, so maybe we'll just stay here for the time being." Kirito said at the same time with me. Holy crap, we said that at the perfectly same time, and with the same sentence no less. WOOHOO, team lone wolves FTW.

Looks like she's amazed. "Wow, really? Then you should really try the cheesecake at this floor. I heard that it's really good!"

"Oh, if it isn't Silica." Do I sense some hostility? We turned our heads to the left and saw a menacing looking guild... Well, maybe for the level of 30s but not for us, LOL. "So... You made it out of the forest, huh?" No, she just made it out of your freaking womb, WELL YES OF COURSE, CAPTAIN OBVIOUS. "I'm relieved." That sarcastic tone...

Both Kirito and I took one step forward, as if trying to shield her.

"Huh? What happened to the lizard?" She asked, maintaining the same sarcastic tone as before. "Could something happen?" Okay that smirk is unnerving... But at least not as unnerving as my not sane grin back at the first floor.

"Pina... Died." She admitted truthfully. "But, I'm definitely bringing her back!" Damn good determination, Silica.

She hummed with an unreadable tone. "Eh...? Then you must be going to the hill of memories... But at your level... Will you be able to clear it?" Woman, I know that you're taller than me, but you're really ticking me off.

"Of course." I spoke calmly. Maybe WAY too calm, considering I had a completely flat tone. "It's not that hard." Once again, Kirito, thanks for your nod, you really have my back on this one.

"Ooh~? So you two are the new ones that she managed to seduce, huh? You two don't look particularly strong to me." Say it one more time, and I'll end you woman. I have GM's approval here in my sword.

"Come, Dash-san, Silica..." Kirito simply smiled. "Let's go." He directed us out of there.

* * *

I'm now sitting alone at a table, waiting for my meal to arrive. Oh, where's Silica and Kirito, you ask? They got into the inn early, I really wanted to eat first before retiring back to the inn. I had a chat window open to keep me company. Luckily, my very first friend still online in this hour. So I can at least chat with her to avoid any awkward conversations... With myself.

* * *

**Sinon**: Hey.

**-**: Yo... :p

**Sinon**: It's been a while, huh?

**-**: Yeah, it is... /:

**Sinon**: How've you been doing?

**-**: Gr8, gr8. Nothing interesting in particular. I'm just here to accompany Kirito.

**Sinon**: Ah, I see. But where are you exactly?

**-**: Floor 35, City of Mishe. Why'd you ask?

* * *

No replies. Weird, she's usually a fast typer. Her messages and replies to me were like sent in like less than five seconds. I frowned, closing the chat window and rested my head on the table. Yeah... I'm that tired. I don't know why, though... It's been a while since I saw Sinon, to be honest. Well to tell you the truth, we haven't seen each other since our first boss encounter. But we kept in touch with the chat system.

"Well, well... I didn't think I'd be seeing you in person again, Nameless-san." Only one person can call me that, a familiar and a very acceptable person it is in both of my ears and eyes. I turned around to see an eyeful of short raven hair, black irises, and black-red-green armor. And also that bow on her back. Silica is standing there... In front of me.

I immediately stood up from my table, banging my knees in the process. This is why I hate tavern's tables. Although I can't feel any pain in this game, I could still feel that... Stinging sensation in both of my knees. Damn it, this is going to be sore tomorrow, but alas, the pain's now gone, when I saw the girl in front of me giving me a small smile.

"Sinon-san!" I greeted, finally getting myself up to stand up again. Wow, now I'm a bit taller than her, for some reason, despite the fact that she's older than me by a few months. Well I'm probably taller than her by 0.5 CM. I know, I'm a damn midget. "Wow, what nice coincidence. Lady Fortuna must be smiling upon both of us, I'd tell you that."

She chuckled. "And so I've seen, Nameless-san." She sat on the chair across from me. "So, life's been treating you and your sword good in the frontlines?"

I couldn't help but chuckle back at her. "You can say that. Although I could ask the same question back to you." I held the warm glass of tea in my hand.

"You mean me and my bow? Well, although some people are still somewhat reluctant to accept this thing in the game, I've been doing good." She went silent. "Look, I'm sorry that I can't attend to your birthday twice."

Whoa really? "Whoa, seriously, Sinon-san. I think both of us know that we're busy with our own activities for the past two years. So it's all good." I held my left hand up, dismissing the topic, my gaze now averts itself back to the tea. "I mean, same here, I could only message you your wishes during your birthday, so, heh." I chuckled miserably. "So. What brings you here to Mishe?"

"Isn't that obvious?" She chuckled once more. "They said that the cheesecake here is great, and to be honest, I've actually tried one here, I dare to say that it's one of the best cheesecake I've ever tasted. Let it be real or virtual." With that, one of the waiters came into out image and put a plate of cheesecake down in front of her. "So, what brings YOU here to Mishe?"

Ooh, so she's also here for the cheesecake huh? Too bad I'm allergic to cheese. I'm curious about the taste myself. "Oh me? I... Forgot." Seriously. I forgot. "Kirito-san was the one who brought me here with him. Although we're heading up to the 47th floor tomorrow."

"Oh? And why's that?"

I told her about our encounter with Silica, and yada yada yada. Including that damn woman. Her expression could be seen changing over the times, which is good, since she's usually straight-faced and neutral like. The change could be one of like shock, surprised, happy, and then a bit irritated, then finally all of her expression deflated back to normal.

"...So yeah, that's why." I finished my story, my expression deflating back to normal as well, before a light bulb went on inside my head. "Hey, why don't you come with us too? You could level up quickly there. The enemies are pretty much harmless and they drop a lot of loot, Cols, as well as XPs." I mean her level is also more than enough to enter the place anyway. She's already level 52. Which I find damn impressive, since she's not fighting up front like we do.

Why's she getting all flustered? It's just an invite to go to the flower fields together. Or maybe I'm just tired as usual. "M-me? I don't know, actually."

"Ah come on." I whined, it must be a weird sight for her, seeing a sixteen year old like this. "It's not like we can meet everyday, right?"

At my last, question, she pouts quietly to herself, possibly contemplating to my offer. "Well, because you'll keep forcing me to go with you no matter what I say, I think that's a yes." Was that a joke? Cause I do feel hurt, you know.

"...I'll take that as an insult, thank you very much." I exhaled loudly. "But it's good to hear that you're coming with us, anyway."

* * *

So, both of us agreed that the time is already late, and we should retire to the inn. Fortunately and unfortunately for me, Sinon here is staying at the same inn as mine. Wait... Something's off. Like my spidey sense's tingling or something between that line. Thanks to my sensing abilities, I could sense someone's presence on the second floor, which is rather off, if I might add. This guy had better not be trying to peek into someone's room.

But there's something else. That guy/girl is also heavily armed. This is... Crap.

"Sinon-san, stay back." I put a hand in front of her, keeping her from advancing.

She gave me a confused look. "Nameless-san? What's wrong?"

"Shh." I commanded. "I could sense a hostile presence on the second floor. Get your bow out, we'll try to neutralize the target at the same time." She nodded. "On the count of three. One. Two. Three!"

We charged into the upstairs part of the inn, to see a cloaked figure leaning his/her body on someone's room. As expected, he/she's heavily armed.

"Hey, you!" I yelled from the stairs, also alerting him with our sudden presence, I unsheathe my great sword and pointed it out to him.

The next second, the door blasted open, revealing Kirito and Silica from the inside. The crook, noticing that he's outnumbered, made his/her way to the stairs. I tried to block him/her, but he/she shoved me away, and hard. The final results of the short chase is... The crook got away, my head got banged to the wall, I got dizzy, then I just went unconscious I guess.

Even though I can't feel pain, the concussion is there, alright. Damn it, why do I have to be one of the most unfortunate players here?

* * *

The next thing that happened to me after I woke up is.

- One, I'm being rested on a couch.

- Two, I'm in someone's room, which I quickly identify the room as Sinon's, since she's sitting on the bed and all.

- Three, I'm probably going to die considering how I end up in her room and all.

Well, it's been fun, SAO. Wave goodbye to your precious life, UnnamedOC.

"Oh, you woke up?" E-eh? Sh-she's awake? Th-the whole time. Fudge. Fudge. FUDGE!

The concussion is still there. It's like someone banged me with a damn grand piano to my head. Or someone forced me to down 10 bottles of vodka. Not that I know what vodka tastes like, but surely, I could get drunk by drinking it, right? Well... More or less, I feel like I'm having a damn hangover. I don't know what hangover feels like... But I do know that it's not good, right? Right? Damn it, my head is still ringing.

"Sinon-san?" Was the first that came out from my mouth, my heterochromic eyes half-opening. "Damn... I feel like utter crap." I winced, holding my head.

Is she... Smirking? TBH, I can't see without my goggles. What? Aside from heterochromia, I'm a minus. I used my goggles as a pair of glasses to you know. What? Th-that's not wrong, r-right? "Wow, Nameless-san. The crook only shoved you into a wall and THIS is how you end up? I thought you couldn't feel pain in this game." W-what? Sh-she's being rational... Holy crap, I might just live through this.

"Mind you, I can still feel the dizziness and the concussion from the blast." I retorted swiftly, not wanting to lose the argument.

"Right... Right..." She answered offhandedly. "So, all things aside, how're you feeling?"

"Between this killing headache and the confusion of waking up in your room, I think I'll live. I think." I joked dryly. "By the way, what time is it, Sinon-san?"

She checked her in game interface. "8:54." Ah, it's still rather early. It's like what they said... '_The early bird catches... The bookworm...?_' Wait what? I'm pretty sure that quote doesn't sound like that. "To tell you the truth, we were all just waiting for you, really."

"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP EARLIER?" I think I'm crying in anime tears right now, seriously, I jumped out of the couch only to get the dizziness back and my face landed first on the wooden floor. Stop that giggling, Sinon, please. "I'm okay." I raised a finger, trying to salvage what's left of my pride. Damn it, my ego won't like this.

* * *

After explaining how CONVENIENTLY Sinon's room was the only room with the extra space... I could finally stop banging my head to the wall. Oh and FYI, Silica and Sinon seems to be getting along well, this even considering Sinon's usually cold attitude.

So, it's now near noon, and we finally arrived at floor 47, the flower garden. As expected to see, there's flowers everywhere, GM didn't warn us about epileptic seizures on this game... Seriously, what if someone has that?! It's like color everywhere! Not that I don't like it, but then again, I guess this game is rated T for a reason. Oh well, not that I care about it. HAH. Okay, so... There's Silica, already wearing her new armor. Me, with a bandaged head. And etc etc etc.

Sure's a sight to see, the said Dragon Tamer went out to the flower fields immediately. Well, yeah... Then there's couples... Couples everywhere. Damn it, I'm jealous. Call me weird if you want, but seriously I'm soooo goddamn jealous. I think I subconsciously started to bite my own damn greatsword. But let's see everyone's reaction, Kirito was able to his cool, is... Silica's face going red...? And is Sinon here getting suddenly flustered? Whoa, this damn headache is worse than I thought.

Seeing that look on Kirito's face... I don't like that teasing look. Not at all. He took one step back. "So, had enough of each other last night?" WHAT. THE. FUDGE. DID HE JUST SAY? If that was a tease, I think I'll take that more as a... A... Argh... I don't know! Wh-why the hell's my cheeks getting warm all of the sudden? With that surprised look, I think he meant ME and SINON beside me. Oh, so this is what Blood Rush feel, huh? It... Doesn't feel good at all.

Exchanging glances... Oh damn... We both looked away from each other, Freaking... ARGH! I don't know seriously!

"Ho-honestly, Kirito..." Sinon says between her stutters. It's pretty weird to see the usually calm girl to stutter like that. Then again, I think I've seen her stuttering here and there, now and then. "Mu-must you make such jokes?"

"I'd vouch for that." I added.

He laughed heartedly, all in good terms. "Sorry, sorry. I just couldn't help myself."

So, we finally walked over to the bridge that leads us to the Hill of Memories. Since Silica here is still underleveled to actually get to the garden, we prepared her an emergency failsafe.

"Listen, if things get out of hand, and we tell you to warp out, use this crystal. It'll teleport you to any town." Kirito held the blue colored warp box to her.

"But..."

"No buts." I interjected. "We're talking about a game that's not a game here. Just... Just promise us, alright?" I asked sincerely this time.

Reluctantly, she accepted the crystal into her hands. "I... I understand."

* * *

The journey was pretty much peaceful. Although some enemies caught us off guard, we managed to beat them easily. Dude, Silica advanced 10 levels alone in this floor. She's one nimble girl I say. Sinon herself advanced about four levels. That's good. To be honest, It's good to see things like this once in a while... I mean, just peaceful walk in the gardens and stuff. I forgot what does this feel after our first month in the game. This virtual reality isn't so bad after all... But then again, when I remember the reality...

"Nameless-san? You're kind of lagging behind." Sinon snapped me out of my thought. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired I guess." I replied casually.

She also slowed her pace, letting Silica and Kirito to walk ahead of us. "Something on your mind that's bugging you recently?"

"You read my mind, Sinon-san." I smirked warily. "To be honest, yeah. Sometimes I do miss the outside world. I wonder what my parents would think about this. Being an only child after all... Not that I mind being in this game a little while longer... But still..." I trailed off. Wow, this game really changed my life. I should give the verdict that this game is better than Minecraft.

"Where do you live, anyway, Nameless-san?" She asked.

"Me?" I pointed at myself, only to regret it a second later. WHO ELSE, DUMB ME. "Well, I live in Kyoto at the moment. Got transferred here while I was in 3rd grade. Originally I'm a foreigner, but I think that's pretty obvious." I chuckled.

She went a bit surprised at this. "You're not actually Japanese?"

"Nah... Came to Japan when I was little from the South-Eastern Asian continent. Made a new life here, and everything seems to be working out well. I got accepted into the betas for this game and all..." I went quiet. "...Only to find that this game is such a cheap joke. I thought that I could only become more carefree the more I join the frontlines... But... Heh, just look at me now, getting all depressed about it."

She stared at me silently. She just literally saw the other side of me. I mean, it's really rare to see me blurting all out of my feelings and all of that. "Well, to be honest... Me too. I thought that this game was revolutionary and all of that... But now just to even think about it... It's like I could only count my days of living left in this world." She paused. "Maybe I'm just scared and all."

Something snapped inside me. "Sinon-san... Don't you ever say that again. We're going to get out of this damned game, let it be lost limbs or not functioning senses, I've made my decision to fight. And I think you should too." I think it's amazing how our feelings were put into real time by the NerveGear. I mean, I know it's just a game, and I know it'll probably go emotional from time to time... But...

And then, finally silence... Yeah... I have to realize that this came has completely changed me.

I began to laugh awkwardly. "Ehehe, what a serious conversation that was..." I forced a smile. "So, let's talk about lighter things, shall we?" She nods silently. "So, I do wonder... Is your name really Sinon in real life?" Cause... Not going to lie, Sinon sounds a little bit stupid for a girl such as herself.

She shook her head wildly. "O-of course not! My name's Asada Shino in real life. Of course, Sinon is just a username of mine. How about yours?"

"Asada Shino?" I repeated her words. "Uhm, is it okay for me just to call you Shino? I REALLY feel uncomfortable to call you by your username."

"Well... Sure... I guess?" She tilted her head. AHA, so someone DOES actually tilt their heads too. "How about yours? What's your name?"

"My name? That's a secret." I winked teasingly. "For now, I'll just stick to Nameless. Onto the next question. Why bow? I think after our last encounter you'll be switching into sword or something, yet you stayed true to your bow. Why's that?"

She paled. God I regretted asking things so freely sometimes. "Well... It's has a connection to my family's past..."

"Don't tell me. If you think that's uncomfortable for you to talk about, then don't. I'm sorry for asking you that stupid question." I slapped my forehead. Damn it, why do I have to do that... Now the freaking headache's coming back.

"Thanks... Nameless-san. So about your eyes... Do they..."

I sighed, here we go again... "Uh-huh. It's a genetical disease called Heterochromia Iridium. Pretty rare, really."

And our slow march to the top continues on...

* * *

Alright, we finally arrived at the top of the hill. Nothing special... Just a pedestal or some sort.

"So... The flower of revival's here?"Silica asked, her eyes looking left and right for the actual item.

Kirito nods. "Yeah, if our memories serves us right, then..." He pointed out to the distance. Oh there it is... Wait, what did he mean by 'our memories'? We literally blasted through the place like damn Duke Nukem actually Nuking the enemies while chewing bubblegum- ahem. But I digress.

An excited Silica jogged lightly to the flower, with the rest of us slowly followed her from behind. When we arrived at the pedestal, the flower began to bloom at a very fast pace indeed, although small and only one, I think that thing is damn beautiful. Makes me actually want to save the greeneries left on our scorched planet. I mean... In 2024, Earth must be like in the brink of extinction due to the Global Warming stuff.

Her eyes glittered in happiness and excitement when she saw that.

"Go on." I chimed. "Take it, it's all yours, Silica-kun." Well, there's only one flower at the freaking pedestal, idiot.

She carefully pulled the Pneuma Flower and puts in on her inventory. "This... Will bring Pina back, right?" She asked in the verge of tears.

Kirito nods. "Yeah."

"I'm... I'm so glad..." I_ D'AAAAAWWWWW'_ed so hard I think my _HHHHNNNNNGGGGHHHH_ broke.

"But there's still monsters scattered around the area, why don't we go back to the city for now?" Shino suggested. Well, that's a great idea!

"Yeah... I'm sure she'll want that too..." Silica puts the item safely in her pouch.

* * *

So now, we're finally walking back to the city, no enemies in sight, HAH. Silica herself was already half skipping to along the way, I swear, I wish I could just have a little sister like her. It would be nice, really. Ahh, what a peaceful day... The birds are chirping (even though there're no birds and it's actually just BG-SFX, much to my dismay), the actually non-existent winds are blowing nicely. This day's...

Wait. Looks like Kirito sensed it too. We both stepped forward in front of the girls and puts our signaled them to stay put. With a stern face they somehow agreed to our request.

"The one hiding behind the tree." Kirito commanded. "You can come out now."

An eyeful of red curly hair... That woman again... She's armed with a spear now... Damn it I don't have time for this crap. "Ro-Rosalia-san?!" Sicilia asked quite disbelievingly.

"Oh, so both of you spotted me, huh?" She asked deviously. "I'd say your detection skills must be quite high, my dear swordsmen. It also appears that you managed to get the Pneuma Flower... Congratulations." The SARCASM... AUGH! "Now... Hand it over." Woman... You beach.

"Like hell we would do that." I spat on the ground.

Shino seems to be getting pissed too. "We walked here all the way from floor 35. I'm afraid we can't let our efforts go to waste."

"Both of them are right, Rosalia-san... Or should I say... Leader of the Orange Guild : Titan's Hand." Oh... Now I remember why are we here down to the low leveled floors.

"But, she's green!" Seriously, Silica? After all of that, you're still trying to defend her?

I pointed my left hand finger to her. "Not exactly. It's just a simple trick, really. It goes like... Green finds, Orange reacts. Simple as that."

"It was one of your men who was listening to Kirito and Silica-chan at the inn yesterday night, correct?" Shino added. I see you're good at playing detective, Shino, be one and I might be actually falling for you. W-wait, wh-what? I-I didn't just thought about that, didn't I?

"Th-then the reason why're we being in the same party for two weeks..." Silica, you don't have to finish your sentence.

Because she's going to do it anyway. "That's right... I was just assessing its strength, while waiting for them to earn money from their adventures."

Call me a knight in shining armor... Except that I'm not a knight... And not in a shining armor in this particular event, but I just want to slay this foul beast.

"You were the prey that I was most anticipating... But it's too bad that you left... But then, you said you were getting a rare item." She played with her spear nonchalantly. "However, all of you knew all of that, but went with her anyway. Are you all an idiot? Or did she actually managed to seduce the three of you?"

"Bzzt, wrong answers, both of them." I created a literal 'X' with my arms. "We're actually here to look for you, Rosalia-san."

Kirito smirked. "Yes. Ten days ago, you attacked a guild called the Silver Flags. All members except for the leader are all dead." He informed... Nasty piece of event that one...

"Oh... The ones without the money?" She asked carefreely. Now I know how GM felt when he's talking to me... Please forgive me, GM.

That's all that she has to say about it? Really? "Their leader warped from one place to another, day to night to get to the frontlines and inform us about the situation. He asked for revenge... But he does not seek for you to be killed. But to be jailed." I explained.

"You..." Shino hissed. "Do you have any idea how the leader would actually feel?" Even if she doesn't know about the whole situation... I...

She shrugged. "Nope... What kind of idiots would take this seriously anyway?"

"We would." Kirito answered firmly.

"Then you all should also watch your backs..." With a single click of her fingers, about ten figures that was hiding in the trees showed up with their weapons ready in their hands, as expected... Oranges all over.

"S-senpai, Kirito-san, there are too many! We-we should retreat!" Silica was of course, afraid of this. Shino was fidgeting all over but she had her bow drawn in her hands, looks like she's not going down without a fight.

"No need." I answered her plainly. "Just keep the crystal in your hand, but don't teleport until we say so, alright?" She nods. "Good, and Shino... You don't have to do this, you know... It'll be over in a jiffy anyway..." Whoa... Did I just call her without any honorifics?

Both Kirito and I nodded at each other, before pulling our swords out from their sheaths, once again, I think my swords created one of those flame sparks again.

"Nameless! Kirito!" Shino tried to protest. But unfortunately for her, we're deaf now, lol.

I think they flinched when they heard our names spoken. As a little bonus... Why don't I... "That's right... The two lone wolves of the front lines which are in the lead groups, no shields, just swords, he is the Black Swordsman, and I'm the Nameless Beater... What an unfortunate day for you guys to be in here, seriously." I joked darkly, my insane grin returning, I could swear I could even get scared at myself sometimes.

"Cut the crap! There's no way that high levels like you would be here! Get them!" Rosalia ordered with her confident grin still visible. And her goons charged in.

What are they doing? I don't even feel a thing. Both Kirito and I were just standing in place, smirking at each other as those goons attack us with all of their might. Seriously, these guys are damn n00bs. Full minute, two minutes, five minutes, they finally exhaust themselves. Yet our health are still full.

"Wh-what are you doing?! Go, kill them all!" Rosalia ordered, voice starting to tremble.

"Aww, scared, little Rosarie?" I mocked, my expression darkened and totally not normal. "Let's see here... We might need a calculator, since I suck at math... One two three..." I played with my fingers in a childish manner. "You guys could do about 500 damage to one of us in ten seconds. Divide it by two since we're two guys, that means 250." I explained slowly.

"That's right. I'm level 78, while Dash-san here is level 74. Both of us have 14.500 and 13.000 health respectively. We have an auto healing skill that could recharge out health by 600 and 550 in ten seconds respectively. That means, ALL ten of you can try to attack us all day and night, but we wouldn't even be flinched by your attacks."

"I-is that even possible?" One of the goons asked disbelievingly.

I turned my red eye to him. "It is, n00b. Sheer numbers will make you tough... Tough, but not invicible. Sorry to burst your bubble anyway... HAHA!" I laughed maniacally.

Kirito showed them the item... "Our client spent his entire fortune to buy this warp crystal that could transfer all of you to jail, instantly."

She tried to retort, spear ready at her hands. "I-I'm green, so if one of you tries to attack me, you'll go orange-" I got sick of her crap. I charged forward and drew my sword. My greatsword stops just before it hits her neck.

"Look, bitch. I got sick of your bullshit since yesterday. Listen to me VERY carefully. We are solo players... Playing orange... PFFT... it's just a freaking blowing wind to us... AHAHA!" I continued laughing. At the tip of my eyes, I could see Silica on the verge of tears, seeing me in my monster persona, Shino just looked at me sadly. I need to apologize to her... "**_SO... I THINK IT'S GAME OVER TO YOU ALL. AHAHAHA ! ! ! !_**"

Rosalia dropped her spear. My insane laughter pierced through the skies. And Kirito simply smiled.

"Warp: Prison!" Kirito declared.

* * *

Shino walked up to me with a glass of water in hand. We're finally at the tavern again. "Calmed down yet, Nameless-san?"

"Yeah..." I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry you had to hear all of that, Shino-san." I apologized, looking away from her.

She smiled at me, although a bit small. "Don't worry. Besides, it's fun watching you shout like that. It's rare to see someone like you to actually do that."

"I'll take that as an insult, thanks." I smiled back at her, my smile as small as hers. "And don't worry... I'm still sane. I just do that to inflict fear to hostile players."

"Really...? Cause... You don't seem to be like yourself when you're raging like that." She gave a questioned look to me.

Damn it... "Shino-san... I'm fine, seriously. If there's anything wrong with me, you'll be the first one to know. So don't worry, yeah?" I absentmindedly reached for her free hand, and just hold it. "But the truth is... I don't know... Just hearing her name made me pissed, and it's like another part of me took control... Sorry... I must've look weird huh?"

Noticing me holding her hand, she flinched. But her tensed muscles finally relaxed. "..." She giggled quietly. "Don't worry about it... You're already weird at the first place... Just add a little bit more personality into you and no one'll even notice." I could finally feel her gripping my hand. "Listen, no matter what, You're still the Nameless-san I know well."

"Touching..." I replied to her sarcastically. "But thanks... By the way... You know well that I'll get you back for that, right?"

"Try it if you can..." She replied to me in a mock sing-song voice.

I think it's the first time I smile like this. "Now..." I stood up from my seat. "Whaddya say, go and witness Pina's revival?" I grinned at her.

"Sure thing... Nameless."

* * *

**Server Three : Passed ; Authenticating players to the next server . . .**

* * *

**-Dev's Log-**

Hmmph, here's server three!

Minimal humor in this chapter. I know, I'm just focusing on the character development, so sorry. This one's out. So... Uh... Awkward chapter between Nameless and Sinon? I guess so. I deeper look into the OCs somewhat twisted personality, so yeah, there's a reason why I changed the story's genre. Don't worry, there'll still be some humors in the next chapters... Only IF I could update that quickly. School's starting, and I can't really do anything to stop my dad from taking my laptop. So... Yeah.

Bring on the flames for the poor plot, guys -_-

Seriously, though, this story sucks, lol.


	5. Sub Zero Adventures

Okay, so today's March 6th 2024, just a few days after we returned to the front lines. So, we're at floor 56, at the outskirts of the town of Pani. Due to whatever reasons, Shino decided to join us over at the frontlines, in which of course I disagreed with her. But seeing her somewhat burning determination to join us, and since her level is pretty much acceptable, we just did a full week of grinding and poof, she's here with me... Er, I mean, us.

Where are we? In a freaking cave with more than 30 people inside. Did I mention that I hate enclosed spaces? If I haven't then please, let me do the honor by saying so now. I'm claustrophobic. I can feel beads of sweat dropping from my forehead every now and so often. Not that I can actually feel heat inside this game, but... I do feel uneasy when I'm inside this enclosed space, especially with THIS many people inside.

What are we doing? We're just about to discuss about-

A familiar strawberry blonde haired figure slammed her hands to the table, gaining our attention. "We're going to lure the field boss to the village." Well, what she said. Asuna is now pretty much taking charge here. Yeah... We're here to discuss about that.

I could feel myself flinching for no reason at all... Well, let's just say that I'm easily surprised, you can't see a war hardened veteran running from a live tree everyday, right? Especially when THAT guy's also the Nameless Beater and... Yeah... I should stop insulting myself. But I do find it entertaining for the reader's sake. So... Oops... Ahem.

Okay, I think we've strayed too far from the main story here.

"W-wait just a minute here." Looks like Kirito here's going to protest about the sudden suggestion. "If you do that, then the villagers..."

"That's the exact idea." Ouch, Asuna. "While the boss is killing the NPCs, we'll use this chance and kill it."

I took a step forward. "**OBJECTION!**" YEAH, PHOENIX WRIGHT, BABY! Ahem. Yes, I do feel dumb after doing that. "Well, although the idea's great, I think I'll have to disagree with this one." I lowered my raised finger, and my 'lawyer' personality deflated back. "NPCs aren't just 3D objects present here in this world. The AI runs in real time just like normal humans. They aren't just rocks and / or trees, merely for just aesthetical features."

Oh crap, she's glaring at me. Quick! Shrink behind Shino to avoid it! "Are... You saying that they're alive?"

"...Mostly..." I whimpered quietly from Shino's back. Oh not you too, Shino. I don't need two people glaring at me at once.

This silence is deafening. "Well, you're wrong." Asuna continued to glare at me. "They are in fact just objects. Even if they are killed, the will just respawn."

"But still, I have to say that I can't really go on with this plan as well." Shino? Are you...? Supporting me?

Now she's narrowing her eyes us, Shino, Kirito and myself. "Are you three questioning me? Asuna, the vice leader of the Knights of Blood and the overseer of this operation?" Another silence. "You all will obey my orders."

Sheesh, lay off with that glare, miss Adolf Hitler... You're making me losing the last bit of my precious self confidence here.

* * *

**Sword Art Online: Virtually Real**

**-Logging Into Server Four-**

**Server Name : Sub Zero Adventures**

**-Log In Complete. Please Enjoy The Game-**

* * *

So, it's already the end of June... And we're just resting ourselves on floor 48's Lindas. What? Is it bad that it's now a few months after the meeting? Well, to give you guys a short summary if that is going to make you all feel somewhat better about it, Asuna have pretty much mended our nearly broken relationship with the solving of the PK cases last April. She's really friendly once you get to know her well enough. The PK case itself was a bit complicated. Faking deaths in a safe zone, making us go to a freaking foggy forest, much to my dismay, and so on.

Oh, and happy birthday to those who celebrate them during April, and May ... And June.

"So, Kirito-san, I appreciate your offer to bring us down here back to floor 48, but... Why?" I asked, well maybe whined, since I'm too lazy to do anything in particular. And by I mean US, I mean both of us, and Shino, I don't know the exact reason WHY she wanted to come with us as well, but... Better not pry into her business or what not. I don't want us to get into an argument again.

Shino herself only shrugged at my childish comment. "Well, it is YOU who accepted his offer, anyway." I don't need this kind of thing right now, Shino, please... Don't make me cry.

Kirito sighed. "I just wanted to check this blacksmith Asuna recommended to me a few days back. She said the smith is a friend of hers and she's a pretty damn good one too." He explained at a slow pace. "Besides, don't you want to at least repair that sword of yours?"

Dull edges, cracked blade as well as the gauntlet parts, loose screws that kept my hand from locking into place, corrosive stains all over, nearly split crystal edges, even more cracks, paling colors, nearly 0 durability, more cracks, and did I mention there's cracks all over the place? He... He got a point on this one, though. Timidly trying to shield my nearly broken down blade using my left arm's gauntlet, I whistled innocently.

I'm not that good awkward social situations.

"You win." I grumbled, yeah, I do need something rather than this thing. Wipe that smug look off from your face, Kirito, and what? Not you too, Shino!

Our walk doesn't last long, about a few minutes of more walking, we finally arrived at a small generic house, which in my opinion has a normal taste to it, with the house had to cost some Cols for players at floor 48 to buy this thing. Then I saw the sign being hanged in front of the door. It's golden part still shining, and 3 words are carved on it. And that three words made my heterochromic eyes to go wide.

'**Lizbeth's Smith Shop**'

That typo though...

* * *

Okay, so my petrified body was carried by a tired Kirito, and now my frozen limbs started to move again, much to my fortune, but seriously... Lisbeth? Here?! What are the odds to see her again, man?! I mean, I do agree that she's very skilled when it comes to metalwork, but I'd never expect her to own a place here at floor 48! My halted breaths finally started to unfroze themselves, taking in some oxygen into my lungs, I can finally move my body.

"You sure that you're okay, Nameless-san?" Shino asked, waving her hand in front of my different colored eyes.

I slapped her five, which probably something she wasn't expecting. "I'm... Fine." I forced those words out.

Kirito himself was enjoying the swords currently displayed on the shelves, and then, the back door of he building opened, revealing a pink haired figure to walk out from it. I swear to God, the last of the screws that kept my sword into its place fell off, and my blade made a dive bombing procedure to the floor, and loud 'BAM!' and an 'Immortal Object' warning later, I was seeing a girl I never thought she would like this...

"Liz-san?!" ... "Coach?!"

Her hair... Her hair... It's... PINK. I... I think my eyes are going worse and worse everyday. Wall... Wall! WALL! There! Time to bang my head! Okay, one bandage around my black hair, I finally calmed down... I think.

"You haven't changed one bit, coach." She said, grinning brightly. "Well... Aside from that zip up hoodie... And still using that almost broken down sword, huh?"

"Say it for yourself, Liz-san. But... What the fudge happened to your hair?!"

"I customized it."

"I see."

"You're still short."

"I get that a lot. By the way... The typo on the sign..."

Then, I realized that both Kirito and Shino were looking at us, utter confused look plastered on their faces, well that's understandable, considering the awkward conversation between me and the blacksmith before me.

"So..." Kirito cleared his throat. "...You two know each other?"

I tilt my head, God, I should really stop doing that. "No kidding, I've known her since the first day here on Aincrad." I smirked. "By the way, Liz-san, this here's Kirito and Sinon. Shino-san, Kirito-san, this is Lisbeth. She's one of the best... Scratch that, she's the best smith I've even met here in this game, her smithing skills are what made my sword the way it is right now." I waved my hand lowly, introducing the pink haired girl to the swordsman and the archer friends.

Okay, was she getting all flustered about this? "N-nice to meet you two, and welcome to Lisbeth's Smith Shop! What can I do for you all today?"

Kirito seems to be taking an interest in her, while... Shino gave me an unreadable look.

"W-well, I would like to place an order for a custom-made weapon." The black-clad swordsman stepped forward towards the counter, before shooting me a look. "And I think he would also like to repair his sword."

Lisbeth gave us a skeptical look, but the next second, it's immediately gone. "Sure, but the metal prices are pretty high these days, though."

"The costs won't really matter us. I'm sure that we can cover it." Kirito waved it off dismissively. "I'm just looking for the best sword you have right now."

"Eh... I'm still a little bit lost on that, could you give me a more proper info on the stats for me to take a look on?"

Kirito pulled his new sword from the back at placed it at the counter. "Something that can par with this, or better if you have one."

Once again, the smith tried to lift the sword, but nothing happened. "It's... Heavy." She then placed a finger on the item to examine it, before giving us a surprised look of her own. "This is... An Elucidator!" She stated loudly with pure amazement. "It's one of the best magic swords you can get from a monster drop!" She then gave me a look. "How 'bout yours, coach? Can I see the condition of your sword as well?"

I nod, unlocking the gauntlet from my right hand. "Knock yourself out, Liz-san." I placed the almost broken down great sword in front of her to analyze the damage.

She gave a good look on the large folding sword I've been equipping for the last few years, before turning around and grabbing a steel sword and gave it to Kirito. "Here, it's one of the best sword I've ever made." And she didn't give me a straight answer... Bad news...

The said swordsman took the sword into his right hand and began swinging it around, almost hitting my face in the process. "It's a little light." That's right, don't even say sorry to me, you bump.

That grin... Why don't I like it one bit when it comes from Lisbeth? "Of course! I made that using a speed-type metal, it's one of the fastest swords around." That pride tone, though...

"You don't mind if I test this, right?"

"Test?" You spoke my mind aloud, Liz.

He grabbed his Elucidator of the counter and into his left hand. "Just its durability."

Noticing what he's trying to do that, Lisbeth frantically slammed her hands on the table. "W-wait! If you do that, your sword might break!"

Too late, I can see Kirito activating his sword skill. "Well, if that happens, it'll be..." Swoop. "Too bad!"

There goes the 'fastest' blade in existence... So much for being 'one of the best swords she ever made', lol. But seriously, it's like a few seconds of slowed down time, as the tip of the broken blade flew to the corner of the room, meeting the 'Immortal Object' warning, and there's a full 5 seconds of silence. All of us were watching the broken blade. The tension is palpable.

Until Lisbeth decides to break down, that is. "**AAAAHHH ! ! !**" THAT DEAFENING SHRIEK! MY EARS! Lisbeth forcefully took the sword back to her hands and assessed the damage done. "Irreparable..." Poof. The rest of the sword disintegrate to nothing but crystal pieces. Lisbeth stared at her empty hands blankly, with Kirito putting on his innocent face. Okay, I will not take any responsibilities regarding this matter whatsoever. You're with me right, Shino? Good.

Both Shino and I exchanged awkward glances. "lol?"

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?!" Wh-wha? That instant recovery was scary... Lisbeth immediately grabbed Kirito by his shirt's collar, pinning him against the wall. That is one huge strength for a girl that's shorter than all of us present here.

"Wh- Sorry! I didn't think that yours would be the one to break...!"

"ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY THAT MY SWORD IS WEAKER THAN YOU EXPECTED?!" Whoa, Ms. Einstein, lay off the E=M.C(Squared) , it's only a sword. Of course, I didn't spoke my thought out loud. It would be the end of me and Kirito here.

"W-well... Sort of..." Kirito... You're gonna get it, dude.

Okay, okay... Note to self : NEVER mess with pink haired, short tempered blacksmith. Especially when the blacksmith itself a girl.

Lisbeth seems to be going rational, letting him go and all. She placed her hands on her waist, and glared at... Wait, why me? Shino! Protect me! "Just so you know, if I had the needed materials, I could make a dozen swords that could make this shiny sword of yours to snap in half!" Err... Is she talking about my almost broken down nameless great sword since she's glaring at me, or is she talking about Kirito's Elucidator, since she's mad at Kirito for breaking her sword at the current moment?

Kirito only gave a smug look of his own. "Oho? Well then, I would really love one. That so called sword that could snap mine in half." That level of sarcasm... Interesting... Interesting indeed... The force is strong with this young padawan...

Lisbeth's face's going red, so red that it matched her... **_Now_ **...pink hair, too bad it signifies anger. "Then you'll have to help me every step of the way!"

"Every step?"

"Uh-huh! Starting with obtaining the metals needed."

Sword Art Online Episode V: The Smug Face Strikes Back, courtesy of Kirito's look. "I can them myself, you know. I'd rather not have you slow me down." Ouch.

The pink haired smith crossed her arms. "Don't you insult me. Mind you, I'm an expert mace user."

Kirito simply walked over to the counter to retrieve his black clad sword. "Then... How do we get this 'metal' you're talking about?"

"Floor 55, Western Mountain, there's a dragon that eats crystals. According to the rumor, it builds up a rare metal inside its body." Eww! Gross! That's like crapping bricks, but worse! I mean, who the hell eats crystal and actually build a FUDGING metal inside its body?!

"Floor 55, huh?"

I raised my hand, the curiosity is killing me. "Uhm, I'm sorry, Liz-san, but about my sword..." I think I'm getting timider by the second.

She gave me a look. "Well, coach, sorry to say, but I think the only way to repair this sword is to get that same metal stored on floor 55. It's crystal and metal edges could use some of that dragon's metal real soon now."

Crap. Should've expected this. "So... That means we're going, Kirito? And Shino? You're coming with us, right?"

"Sure, let's go-"

"Not so fast." That grin... Why?! Why does it have to assault my poor mental state?! "If you want to get that metal, you'll need a master smith to come with you... So... Still thinking about leaving me here?"

Why is it silent again? I mean yeah sure, there's the BGM music playing but is silence the freaking favored thing to do here in SAO? "Just keep quiet and stay out of our way." Once again, Kirito... Ouch.

"H-hey! What are you-"

I quickly opened a party menu to defuse the situation. "E-erm, guys! We should really party up now, ehehe... Ugh." Damn it.

"Looks like we'll be partying up... Well, we'll expect your full cooperation. Li-Zu-Beth." Kirito once again, with his smug face takes the poll position, beating Valentino Rossi and Mark Marques by 0.531 seconds.

* * *

Freezing. That's what I could sum up about this place in less than 3 seconds. I know that it's impressive how the climate and geographical standards changed on each floor, but this is just madness! And no, this is not Sparta, this is Aincrad. I find myself sneezing more than I could remember. Sucks to be stuck in this climate until we get this dragon's metal. And yeah, since me and Kirito are the most high leveled compared to the two behind us, we're leading the group.

That huge gap and endless fall though... One of my biggest issues... I'm afraid of heights... Damn you floor 55.

"Achoo!" You sneezed my feeling aloud, Liz. "It's cold." And... Thanks for the heads up, captain obvious.

Kirito and I stopped. "Don't you have any extra clothing?"

"I didn't know that floor 55 would be this cold!" She protested.

"I-I'd v-vouch... f-f-for that..." My breaths are all freezing up.

The black swordsman rolled his eyes, before opening his inventory and tossing one woolen cloak for the pink haired smith to use.

"Don't you guys need this?" She asked, somewhat surprised.

Kirito raised his coat's collar up. "Unlike you, we're more disciplined."

"P-p-pfft... Y-yeah right..." Seriously Kirito, I'm dying here.

Then I realized that Shino is somewhat lagging behind. I wondered if she's not cold at this climate. I mean just look at her armor piece! It's thinner than the three of us here! Kirito has his trench coat, I have this jacket that's doing nothing to stop the cold (much to my disappointment), and Lisbeth over there with the new cloak Kirito just given to her, and her original attire is pretty damn thick too. But her minimal armor is...

"Guys, you can go on ahead." My teeth finally stopped gritting at each other for God-knows-why reasons. I skipped a few steps back to where Shino is, the archer herself only gave me that still unreadable look from her face. Sheesh, what's with her? She hasn't spoke a thing since like... Since Lisbeth's Smith Shop, yeah. "Yo." I greeted her casually, just like I always do to most people.

"..." Oh yeah, she's cold alright.

I know it's cold, but why's she giving me the cold shoulder? "Cold?" No response. "I'll just take that as a yes." I took off my zip up hoodie and toss it to her. Damn it, it's freezing cold now, I think I'm getting Hypothermia and Frostbite at the same time here... Not that we can actually get sick in this game, but... Sheesh...

She stared at my hoodie for a couple of seconds. "Aren't you cold yourself?"

"I'm freezing."

She shoved the jacket back to me. "Then you should be the one who wear this."

I slapped her five again. I don't know why am I high-five-ing people when I'm trying to decline their offer lately. "Shino-san, it's freezing cold and even my thick jacket can't stop the weather from freezing my bones, let alone your minimal thin armor." I said with a scolding tone. "That jacket is yours. Besides, It's not like we can die in this game due to extreme weathers... Or is it?" Even I doubt myself sometimes.

The archer just give me that look with her black irises again. "I... Guess you're right..."

"Heh." I snort sarcastically. "So... 21 - 20?" I ask, oh, we've been counting our victories over our arguments from time to time. This is stupid and random, but since we get ourselves into arguments even over trivial matters... I think this game is unavoidable. And oh yes, we have argued for over forty times in the last few months. Quite a friend she is, huh...?

"...21 - 20." She sighed in defeat.

"HAH!" HAH! I gave that pathetic half-second laugh before finally walking ahead of her.

"...but thanks..."

Damn it.

* * *

Crystal field... In a snow... I don't even know... Why I go... Okay I should stop rhyming that was terrible. But yeah, we arrived at the crystal field and the place itself is decorated with... Well, crystals, obviously. Damn if this is Minecraft, people would be jumping and doing backflips all over saying that they found diamonds. Sadly, this is SAO. And this game has better graphics than Minecraft. And this game is also larger that Minecraft's 'infinite' land.

Of course, I should stop referencing games from the late 2000s. But still the snow got reflected by the brilliant shining crystals all over the place lighting up the area magnificently and beautifully. I should save this one as an in game screenshot, who knows, maybe I can print in out from the NerveGear once we're out of this place for good that is.

"Wow." Shino exhaled. "What a sight to see."

"I agree." Yes, do agree with her.

There's Lisbeth and Kirito again, and the smith was just about to skip over to the larger crystals at the center area, but the hood part of her cloak was pulled by the swordsman. Growling in an irritated manner because of that, she glared at Kirito.

"Hey, what was that for?!"

"Get your teleporter crystal ready." He commanded, before waving his hand to both me and Shino, possibly signaling us to catch up with him since we made quite the distance. Surely enough, we jogged lightly over to their location. "...And we'll do this part on our own."

I didn't quite hear what he said just now. What was that? "Alright... What did we miss?"

"Once the dragon appears, you go hide in the shadows over the crystals there, and don't come out. Dash-san, Sinon-san, I trust you two can help me with this?"

I nod, although still not getting the idea. "Sure. Shino-san, can you provide overwatch from that crystal part over there?" I pointed to the far right hand corner of the horizon.

"Got it." Short and simple, good one, Shino.

Lisbeth, feeling that she's being ignored, hissed at us. "Hey! I'm no newbie! i can help out too you know-"

"No!" Kirito yelled. WATCH OUT FOR AVALANCHE! Oh... It's not happening? But seriously, did that really break the mental of the pink haired Lisbeth? I mean just a straight up, loud 'no' could shut her up? Wow, now that's something new. But... I think I got scared too, considering I'm holding to Kirito's trench coat by now. I don't know why and / or when I did that, and yes, I do feel dumb.

Silence. A nod. My hands freeing themselves on the grip from Kirito's coat. A pat on Lisbeth's head by Kirito, a red faced blacksmith, and yada yada yada later... ...I'm pretty sure that I'm just imagining things when I saw Lisbeth getting red faced though.

"Alright. Let's get going." Kirito tapped my shoulder, I took that as my cue to follow him.

A loud nasty growl... My self confidence fading into nothing... And then a tremor, okay looks like we triggered the enemy AI. True enough, a few seconds later a large piece of crystal moved on its own and a menacing looking dragon came to life. It's damn dragon with its scales made of sharp and pointy crystals. I would be amazed if I wasn't so afraid from sharp objects! God dammit! Both Kirito and I drew our swords. Kirito with his Elucidator and me with my almost broken nameless greatsword.

The dragon charged up a visible electricity current on its mouth. A breath attack, huh?

"I got this one!" I got in front of Kirito, and activated my sword skill, and just in time. My sword cancels the beam attack out, leaving no damage to us whatsoever. Can't say the same for our surroundings, though. So much for saving the environment. Remember kids, when you see a dragon, kill it before it destroys the greeneries near you, this PSA is presented by your friendly neighborhood, Spiderman. err... Nevermind.

"Is your sword okay?" The swordsman asked, brandishing his own as well.

A few more cracks. "It'll be fine."

"Right, let's go!" Both of us ran forward to face the dragon head on. We used the larger crystals to get our bodies airborne and attack the dragon directly. Of course, the battle was going right on course. We are pinning it down so much that the dragon was put back into the defense. This is when Kirito charge in and slices the dragon's left arm. I was just about to finish that thing off, until Lisbeth decides to intervene by walking out from her cover.

"Alright! Now finish it off!" LISBETH, NO!

"You idiot! Not yet! The dragon is-" Kirito's words were cut short.

That is when an arrow made of light pierced one of the dragon's wings, turning its attention elsewhere. The dragon's crimson eyes turned to the far Eastern border of the crystal field. Wait... But there's... Oh crap, Shino!

"Lisbeth-san, run!" Shino yelled from the distance.

Too late, the dragon swoop in and swung both of its wings at full force, sending crystal shrapnel as well tidal wind waves all over the area, sending Lisbeth flying towards the hole, while the other shrapnel is...

"LIZ!" - "SHINO!"

Both Kirito and I slapped each other five, Kirito's going in for Liz while I'm gonna get the stranded archer, I activated my 'After Image' skill just to give me the boost needed to charge forward faster than the shrapnel. My attempts are proven successful, as I land in front of her, seeing that sword couldn't withstand this blow, I used my left hand gauntlet to receive the blow.

At that, most of the shrapnel hits their target, me, the sudden force of wind and sharp objects that impacted my body made me lose my momentum and slammed Shino on my back. Both of us fell from the crystal, and our eyes meet ... Fudge. A giant crevasse, probably hundreds of meters deep. This is not good.

"Shino!" I yelled, holding my hand out. "Your hand! NOW!"

She was practically gasping for air, but complied to my order non verbally.

"Clench your teeth! This fall is going to..."

A moment of silence...

"...**HHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTttttttt...! ! !**"

* * *

ARGH! My head...! Damn... How long have I been out? A few minutes? Hours? A day even? Damn it, this headache is never going to heal. Looks like I'm still fortunate that I landed on the soft white sheets of snow, and I need to thank GM for making the fall damage that serious, unless you fell off from the Aincrad tower, that is. I can't feel my left hand. Great. Probably because of the massive numbers of shrapnel that entered my arm. I need to get that checked or I can wave goodbye to my left digital hand. I'm not left handed... But still... It would be...

...Oh crap, Shino! I shot my eyes open, and what I saw next was soft grey clouds. I tried to pick myself up but something heavy prevents me from doing so. What the...? An eyeful of white moebius strip and short raven hair... This thing is... Wait... It took me full five minutes to realize that Shino had landed on top of me. Realizing that fact, I quickly used all of my nerves to refrain from yelling loudly and banging my head to the nearest iceberg.

She's still... Unconscious. Damn, with the half part of my body feeling numb and immovable, I think all of the choice left is to wait. Now, let's see, I can at least check the game's HUD... My health's down to red, not good, well, at least, there's no more bleeding damage. I checked the time. It's getting fairly dark. I lowered my glance, to check Shino's health... She's still in the green zone, although it's slowly approaching the yellow zone.

"Ngh..." The archer moaned softly. Looks like she's getting her consciousness back. "H-huh... Where...?" She lifts her body up slowly, her hand pressing against my chest... I can't... Breathe... "Where am I...?" She looks around, confused, still on her crouched position on top of my body. Seriously, hasn't she realized that she's literally sitting on top of my numb body? She then looked down.

To meet my different colored eyes. She stared at me and then her eyes went empty, her mouth slightly opened. I think I should probably say something. "U-uhm..." My voice sounded kind of sore and desperate. "Y-yo...?"

I wasn't expecting that hard stomp on my face after that deafening scream that could potentially cause a REAL avalanche, though.

Five minutes later, I'm still on the ground, with my health close to 5% and my vision and HUD still dazed, and I swear to God, I could see some stars on my vision. She's being way too hard on me, seriously. I think 'Yo' isn't the best choice of entry after someone landed on top of you for God-knows-how-long time period. With the left part of my body still can't be moved... Looks like ... _I'm not movin'... I'm not movinnnn'..._ Ahem. Where's Shino? She's... Over there, with tears still visible on her black eyes, and her face flushed in deep red.

At least I can still move my right hand... In this currently laying down position, I decided to open up the party menu, which it brings up four names. Good... Looks like both of Lisbeth and Kirito survived from the assault as well. I checked my limbs' status, to see my left arm and my left leg both in red condition. I mean if it's leg, I could force myself to walk, but arm...

Suddenly, I see a handful of red liquid, being shoved to me. "E-eh?" I asked, voice still somewhat dry and sore.

"..." Shino was holding out a health potion to me. "D-drink it." Her voice is still trembling.

"Wh-what?" No, seriously, what?

"Y-your health... It's in red... J-just drink it!" She forced the potion into my left hand.

"Ow! Ow! Watch the arm! It really stings this time!" I forced my body to pivot to my side and used my right arm instead to grab the potion, drinking the red liquid slowly, I can finally see my health bar slowly recovering back to yellow, then finally back to green. Thank God and perhaps GM for that. "So... Are you okay?" I asked, my body still laying down on the snow.

"I... I think I should be the one who asks that question to you. But... I'm fine... Thanks."

"Me? Aside from this two damaged limbs, I suppose I'm fine. We'll need to contact Kirito-san and Liz-san though..." I replied back to her, opening a party chat window. "On that case... Shino-san have you tried teleporting us out of here?"

She nods. "In the matter of fact I have tried that, but I think we fell into a no crystal zone."

Ah... Perfect...

* * *

**-**: Kirito-san! Liz-san! Are you two okay?

**Kirito**: We're fine. Fell through a deep hole though...

**Lisbeth**: And we can't teleport out! D:

**Kirito**: Where are you two right now? We could use some help here.

**Sinon**: I think we fell to the East. Nameless-san is injured badly.

**-**: I'm not dying, Shino-san. -_- By the way, we've tried teleporting out as well, but we're in a no crystal zone. My left arm and leg are in a red condition, so it might prove me difficult to move. But at least we're not trapped. Kirito-san, could you send us your location? Maybe we could rendezvous there.

**Kirito**: Sure.

_. . . Sending Data . . ._

**Sinon**: We got the map data.

**Lisbeth**: It's getting dark, though... ):

**-**: If the time does not permit us to move on, we should probably stay the night here.

**Kirito**: Agreed.

**-**: Alright then, we'll try to move ASAP.

**Lisbeth**: Good luck, you two! :3

**Kirito**: Godspeed.

* * *

Both Shino and I closed our chat window. I picked myself off the ground only to tumble back and forth. My leg... Damn it. Real time injury, huh? Shino almost offered her shoulder, but I waved her off. Seriously, what kind of guy I am if I'm to expect some help from a girl? I should be the one who's supposed to be helping her. Not HER helping ME. I feel horrible if just couldn't do that.

So I limped all over to the top part of the crevasse. It's not really late, and every step I take would only make my condition worse. I think Shino here is also getting exhausted too. I called off our journey for the time being, since the dragon is also nocturnal. It'll be risky for now to jump into the fray again. I told Kirito and Lisbeth about this, and they also agreed to rest on their new found hole as well. Looks like we're going to spend the night here after all...

I opened my inventory and start a warm fire for the both of us. Sharing the generic NPCs bread with the archer beside me, we ate quietly, also enjoying the calm and tranquil night.

"Are you sure that you're okay, Nameless-san?" Shino, for the umpteenth time asked me that question.

And of course... For the umpteenth time, I answered. "Yeah. I'm fine." Seriously, this injury won't kill a player here in SAO, besides, at the front lines, I've experienced much worse things with Kirito back then. Now, I'm resting my back against the crevasse's large ice wall. I think my senses have numbed themselves to the freezing cold, my skin must be as pale white as the snow right now.

"But you don't look so... _fine_ in my HUD now." She protested.

I need to change the subject, more of these and we'll be trapped in an endless argument again. "Are you still cold by the way?"

She shook her head. "I think it'll be fine, with the fire here and all... Besides..." She mumbled the last part out, which is somewhat inaudible in my ears.

"Besides?" I repeated her words with a questioning tone, my head tilted.

Is she flustered? Nah, I'm probably just too tired. "N-nevermind that...!"

I snapped my head back to the fire I set up. "Okay..."

"Honestly though... You're being too carefree on things like this."

I sighed. "The point is to never panic, Shino-san. If you keep your head leveled, you're bound to find a solution, even in the toughest situations." I've just become a inspirational person! I need to write a book about this. Who knows, maybe I'll be rich and famous like... Mario Teguh and / or Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. Oh what am I kidding.

She chuckled. She chuckled...? "Wow. You sure changed a lot. When I first met you, you were all carefree and just like another beta tester... Naive, carefree, and think that they're invicible... But..."

I snort sarcastically right at her. "Yeah, seriously..." A smirk forming up on my smug looking face, although it quickly disappeared. "Things changed, Shino-san. Especially when you entered the front lines first hand. Seeing people dying left and right is never easy. I don't know what the hell changed me... But still... I think that's what they call growing up, huh?" And for the first time ever, my voice sounded like a damn teenager on his puberty. I feel proud of myself.

"Yeah... But you certainly had grown more mature." She smiled warily, her eyes threatening to close up any second now.

Wut? "Wh-what's that supposed to mean?" I looked away from her.

"...Nothing..." That last part sounded very very quiet... The next thing I know there's a sudden weight in my right shoulder.

I turned my heterochromic eyes to my right to see Shino, already asleep, using my shoulder as her head's support. Nothing came out of her safe for very soft breathing, I couldn't even tell if she's breathing or not if it wasn't for the steady rise/fall of her diaphragm. Is it just me or do I suddenly feel warm? Oh what... It must be me. Damn it. I forced my left arm to lift itself up and slap myself in the cheeks.

A loud yawn escaped from my mouth, my eyes dropping down slowly as the fire also starting to die down due to the cold. I checked the time one last time. 23:49. It's really damn late. I couldn't dare myself to wake her up... It would too... Cold. Nah... Looks like I'll have to survive for the night with her resting on my shoulder. I got the sudden urge to put my left hand on her shoulder as well. "...Good night, Shino-san."

Besides... It was also because of you that I changed this much.

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes, my blue eye comes up first, then my red eye. Shino is still asleep, I see. Okay, the sky's still dark. The time... 4:52. Still an hour away before sunrise. Alright... My wounds... My arm and leg are beginning to glow back to yellow over the night, yeah, I'll survive. Just in case, I opened the chat and told Kirito on our progress, maybe he'll-

_Beep._ That was fast.

* * *

**-**: Kirito, I know that you're probably not up yet by this hour, but just to tell you, me and Shino will be on the move again, you just stay put, alright? We'll be there shortly, we aren't far from your location anymore.

**Kirito**: Thanks, Dash-san, but I think I've found what we needed so far. Lisbeth's still asleep, though.

**-**: You mean the rare metal?

**Kirito**: Yup.

**-**: Sweet! ^.^ alright, see you soon.

**Kirito**: 'Kay, and... You might wanna hurry.

* * *

I should really stop sing emoticons... Wait... No! I will NOT stop using emoticons! They're too cute to miss! Call me girly and / or childish but emoticons are pretty fun to use. Seriously.

Then, without an unneeded cue, I could hear more soft grumbles from the archer beside me. Slowly but surely, Shino opened her black eyes. Drowsily yawning, she took a good look on the still dark skies, before her eyes finally shot open and realized something out of place. So out of place that I think I'm going red from embarrassment myself. I flinched.

It's my hand. My right hand, wrapped around her shoulder.

Silence.

I immediately stood up, recoiling back from the sudden surprise, both of my eyes widening, and I think I could feel this strange warm feeling on my cheeks. "G-gah!" I yelled. "Sh-Shino-san! Th-that was an accident... I didn't think... I wasn't... I don't! GAH!" I was frantically flailing my arms around, and was going as far away from her as possible. "I-I seriously... I DAMN IT!"

"Nameless-san!" She yelled back right at me, face also reddened. "Th-that's... I know... I uhm... Thanks."

Thanks? _Thanks?_ **_THANKS?!_** Seriously? I think something broke down inside my mind.

"I... I mean, thanks! I mean... I-I... You... We were..." She stutters out as well.

"No, I mean... L-last night... Both of us were..." And I stuttered out too.

* * *

Okay, both of our stuttering contest went into an abrupt end when we realized that we still have two people of our party to rescue. Our walk to their location wasn't so bad. It only took us an hour, and it's now 5:59, exactly a minute before sunrise. Okay... According to the map... They're right.. Inside this hole?! Dude, this hole has a 20m diameter and maybe even more! More suspiciously, why's there a random hole here in the crystal field?! And how did they fell in?! This thing is obvious! Clear as day!

Ugh... No choice. I decided to contact them by yelling. "Kirito-san, Liz-san! We're here!"

"Guys!" Kirito yelled from down below, that's him alright. Both me and Shino breathed out a sigh of relieve. "Get out of there, quickly! Use a teleportation crystal or something! Just get out of there!"

"What? Why?" I yelled back from the top.

He slapped his forehead. "You know that the dragon's nocturnal, right? You'll have only a couple of seconds before..."

_Growl._

_**CRAP.**_

"GET DOWN!" I pushed Shino out of the way and both of us dived to the sides of the hole, and just in time, the last thing I saw was that the dragon is charging to the inside of the hole... Wait, that means... "KIRITO! LIZ!" I let go of Shino's hand and ran back to the hole's edges.

To see Kirito running on the wall with a terrified Lisbeth on his back... WHAT?! THIS ISN'T NARUTO, DAMN IT! Or maybe I'm still dreaming after all... I pinched my cheek, then I realized I can't actually feel pain in this game. But there's the sting... So... Yeah... He's really running on the wall with a girl in his back. Oh wait! He jumped down, and... He planted his sword on the dragon's body, using it as their ride out! Holy crap, you're one genius boy, Kirito!

Oh I get it now! It's a no crystal zone since it's a boss dungeon, huh? After their dramatic outro, the two got launched out violently back to the outside. I think this calls for one sweet revenge... I summoned my greatsword into my hands.

"Shino-san, I want you to teleport with them back to the 48th floor." I looked back to her, oh great, she's glaring at me. Way to kill off my ego when I'm just about to strike this thing down...

"Nameless-san... There'll be absolutely no way that I'll leave you in your current state! What are you think you're doing anyway?!"

I smiled. "I'm just about to deliver my message to this dragon..." I faced the beast that's landing in front of me. "That if you hit me or you once... I'll make sure to return the favor..." I activated my sword skill. "...**_A THOUSAND FOLD!_**" I smashed my blade on the dragon's main body, sending it flying out of control, and crashed into a nearby crystal wall.

"Then I'm with you! I'm not going to let you face this thing all by yourself."

"Shino-san, this is no time for arguments like that!"

"I'M SERIOUS!"

She... She's really... "...Alright."

She smiled victoriously, preparing her bow skill as well. "Four of a kind!" She declared, launching an arrow and it's quickly duplicated into four types of super-fast and sharp bullets, hitting the already downed dragon, pinning it down to the ground. "Nameless!"

"**_FUS RO DAH!_**" I yelled, jumping from one crystal edge with the sword ready in hand. I'm _Bear Grylls, and welcome to Man vs Wild_. Today we have a young mate right here facin' a magnificent lookin' dragon. You see that, mates? Awh just look at him. He- ahem. "**_THIS IS THE END!_**"

* * *

_Pang! Pang! Pang! Pang! Pang!_

We're now back at Lisbeth's Smith Shop. Here's the story, we managed to kill the dragon, and got ourselves five Crystalline Ingots for the each of us. Kirito had his new sword made. It's called the '**Dark Repulser**', the long cyan sword looks a bit contrast to his all black features but it fits with him nicely. Shino and I used our own ingots to upgrade and / or repair our broken equipment.

Shino got this upgraded bow of hers, it got this sharp cyan linings on the sides of the bow, and instead of wood, the bow is now using metal as its main hull composer. The name of the bow is '**Bow of the Ulysses**'. Nice name, really. The arrows produced with that bow are also made of metal with sharp cyan edges visible on the tip.

While me... I got my sword repaired using one ingot, and now my nameless greatsword's green crystal edges is now replaced with a light cyan glow. It's also lighter, the Agility and Strength level is not to be questioned either. The normal binary coded stats are already strong enough as it is, combine it with the new upgrades... Then wow. The sword itself retains the folding mechanism, much to my comfort.

But what about the other four other ingots, you ask? I asked Lisbeth here for a favor to create me one last greatsword. The result itself is... A longsword. Yeah. I got a longsword instead. The hilt is colored in blue with the 90 degrees tilted grip is colored in silver. The main blade is fully colored in light greenish-cyan color. The total length of the sword matched my greatsword. It's really really light, since I also threw in some speed-type metals during its fusion. The sword itself has no name.

"Coach?" Lisbeth asked, confused. "Whaddya say about this? I got no info on this sword whatsoever. I got nothing from the Info Broker's log too. All of the things I made today are pretty much new. I've never seen them before."

I shook my head. Yeah... I think it's about time to end this thing. I'll name these two. "I'll just give these two a name to help the info brokers out there..." I raised my old greatsword. "I'll just call this '**Nameless Sword**'." True to its name, really. "And this..." I raised my newly made sword with my left hand. "I'll have this one named... '**The Blade of Nobody**'."

Accept Name Change Confirmation.

* * *

**Server Four : Passed ; Authenticating players to the next server . . .**

* * *

**-Dev's Log-**

_HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA! HEYYEYAAEY! I said HEY! What's going on!_ Ahem. Hello, there everyone! It is I... Don't mind me.

Uhm, here's chapter four...

So, lotsa things to explain in this, first of all, sorry for the time skip, I just literally got confused on what to write if the chapter is based on episode 5-6, so I went directly to episode 7. I hope that you guys are not mad with it. Now... Let's get on with the main point of this thing. Sorry for the changes everyone, especially with... Well, everything, I suppose.

I think it's a pretty hard challenge for me to actually invert the OCs personality from like carefree to completely caring and quote-unquote '_logical_' the way he is now. He's still pretty much the same, but the fact that war can change everything, has its own perks, yeah? Then there's aging. When the story starts, he's 14, now, he's 16. Things can change in two years time. Let's just say that he's actually growing up. The small amount of humor is still present on his thoughts although more and more of it are getting more unimpressive.

Then there's his new sword. I used the design based on Gundam 00's GN-Sword V, from the movie, A Wakening of the Trailblazer. The only main difference is the grip of the sword, so instead of using the vertical hilt like all swords would have, this one uses a horizontal grip, so it's like wielding a tonfa, but too bad this thing is not a tonfa, so yeah, like a tonfa, but with bladed edge on its end. The way he grips the sword is the same as he wields his old great sword.

Then there's more unimpressive and awkward moments with Shino. I seriously think that those moments were really sucky-ish...

And finally, I kept writing 'this story sucks' because of I DO think the story sucks, I personally think that this story is yet to even reach par level with the better fics out there. Seriously, most of them are amazing.

So yeah... Bring on the flames guys, because... Yeah, this story sucks. -_-


	6. Dinner by Aincrad's Iron Chefs

"Dash-san? Egil?" I could hear someone calling one of my many nicknames from my back. That voice... It could be only...

I turned my back around, somewhat startled. "Kirito-san!" I exclaimed.

Oh, where are we? We're at Egil's shop at floor 50, the city of Algade. The town itself is pretty big, and somewhat filled with marketplace as well as slum areas for the poorer NPCs and players that can't afford to buy the more expensive houses scattered around the area. You guys still remember Egil, right? That big, muscly, hulking looking bald guy? Oh yeah, he's not so bad, in fact, he's really kind. I should really stop juding the book by it's cover.

Where's Shino? Oh, she's out shopping. I'm just here with Egil, chatting idly and waiting for someone or something interesting to pass by. Suppose that we should rest now and so often. Launching genocides on the monsters is fun, but we do need to rest right? So, yeah, that's why we're here. Just to blow off some steam, enjoying the full view of the beautiful Aincrad and all that.

Hastily, the black swordsman walked up to the counter. "Egil? How much can you give me for this?" He quickly opened a trade menu, and showed us a...

"S-seriously?" Both Agil and I stuttered. "Th-this is an S-Class rare item!"

I can seriously hear myself exhaling loudly. "R-Ragout Rabbit Meat?!" I spoke its name out loud, oh how I crave to cook that thing... "I-I've never seen someone actually caught it before."

"Hey, Kirito, don't you have enough Cols already? Would you rather eat it for yourself than sell it?" The bald man asked, bewildered by Kirito's actions.

Kirito himself only shook his head disapprovingly. "I'd love to, since I'll probably never get one again. But... Our cooking skills are not high enough, if we try to cook it, it'll only burn itself out."

I hummed, putting a hand into my chin. "Yeah... My cooking skill's still at 896... I doubt I can...-" Wh-why are you guys staring at me? "Wh-what?" I asked uneasily.

Egil's smile is bad for my heart. "Looks like we found our chef, Kirito."

The said swordsman nodded slowly. Why am I having a bad feeling about this...? "Dash-san... Cook for us."

"Wh-what?!" I yelled loudly, staggering back from the sudden info that entered my ears. "N-no! My cooking skill isn't high enough!" I shook my head wildly. "Your cooking skill has to be at least 950 in order to reach the 50% mark to cook it. So, one must fully maximize their cooking skill if they want to cook a Class-S ingredient to its full perfection." I explained. "Sure, I can cook Class-A ingredients, but S is still out of my reach."

Oh, do I love cooking? Uhm, I guess. I usually use some of the inn's cooking pot for me to cook some of my rewards from hunting the wild life. Do I cook in real life? Sometimes. Sunny side up eggs, and some simple recipes, enough to keep my tummy filled daily and not to be bored with the same menu every single passing day. Don't my parents cook? Oh they can, but mostly it's me, since my eating schedule is somewhat... Unique.

I can see both of them dropping their heads low. Damn it, I always feel bad for disappointing someone I know... I whimpered as I took a step back from them.

"Kirito-kun, Noname-kun?" I can also hear someone calling my other nickname, too. This time, it sounds like a girl, and it's not Shino for sure. All of us turned our heads to the entrance of the store.

Long strawberry blonde hair... "Ah, Asuna-san-" I almost greeted her but a black flash went pass me.

Kirito instantly grabbed her hand. "I've found my chef."

Ouch, that hurt me a little. "Wh-what?" She asked, confused, well, TBH, I would say the same thing if I was her, really.

That man... Why's he glaring at us like that? It made my self confidence drop significantly. Kirito, realizing that, lets go of her, and awkwardly chuckles, probably to avoid more confrontation. I could find myself hiding behind Egil's counter, he gave me a scolding look, but at least that's better than that man's glare. Seriously, I can feel myself actually shrinking. I think it must be fairly amusing for all of them to see one of the most highest leveled players to be acting like this.

I think Kirito shrugged it off. "So, it's rare to see you dive in like this, Asuna. What brings you here?"

"It's almost time for the next boss, you know." She scolds. "I just came here to check if you're still alive or not."

"Both of us are in your friend list. You can tell from that." Kirito replied.

She sighed. "Well then, if both of you are alive up to now, then that's good enough for me." A pause. "Anyway, what was that about a chef?"

As if an old light bulb went on inside Kirito's head, he raised his finger. "Oh yeah, that. What's your current cooking skill?"

She grinned brightly, and maybe a bit proudly. "I maxed it out last week."

"EH?!" Was the answer that came out equal from all of our mouths.

"Amazing, right?"

I jumped out from behind the counter. "Teach me, master!" I begged.

But to my dismay, the two seems to be locked on each other's conversation, and my request goes unanswered. "If you're that good... Then I have something to ask you." Kirito opened his inventory again, and showed the ingredient to her.

Immediate reaction: Loud gasp, wide eyes, arms starting to flail. "Wah?! Th-this is a Ragout Rabbit!"

Kirito simply smiled. "We'll trade. If you can cook it for me, I'll let you have a bite."

Asuna wasted no time to grab him by the collar. "**_Half._**"

Aw, come on! I wanted to taste it too! "U-uhm, hey, guys, how about I'll help too? My cooking skill isn't as high as Asuna-san right here, but... At least I can help out."

"You want to taste some of it too, right?" Kirito smirked at me. "Well, sorry to say, but-"

"Please? Please? I'll make the desert!" I was practically begging!

"No." Asuna, come on!

"And the side dishes! I'm practically making everything besides the main course here! Come on, I'm not asking much! Just 1/3rd of the meat!"

"...Just a 1/4th."

"Deal!"

YES!

* * *

**Sword Art Online: Virtually Real**

**-Logging Into Server Five-**

**Server Name : Dinner by Aincrad's Iron Chefs**

**-Log In Complete. Please Enjoy The Game-**

* * *

Hah! I could see some flowers floating beside me. Although... I do feel bad for not inviting Shino to this, though... Then, I could feel some uneasy auras just hanging there beside me. Then I realized that Egil's still there, staring at us with his envied eyes, W-wah, stop staring at me like that... I have issues when it comes to big man watching my every moves. I mean, I'm the shortest kid present in this store, I don't want to feel even more intimidated by taller people staring at me.

The next thing I know, I was holding onto Kirito's coat again, with soft puppy whimpers coming out of my mouth.

"Sorry, Egil... Looks like we're not going t trade after all..." Kirito smirked instead, turning his body to the exit door.

The said man sweatdropped. "H-hey, come on... We're friends, right? A-at least let me have a taste too..."

"We'll just give you a two page essay on how it tastes..." The black swordsman started to walk outside, dragging me with him.

I peek my small head up. "E-Egil-san! I promise I'll cook you something made of Class-A once I got back...!" Hopefully that'll defuse him... Hopefully.

Okay, so now we're out of the store. I'm still holding onto Kirito, damn it, everytime I got scared, I would always grab his coat for God-knows-why reasons. I should stop doing that, now I'm getting numerous stares from the other players and even the NPCs. Even that man that's standing beside Asuna is giving me an amused look. Good thing Kirito doesn't seem to mind this. I do feel bad, always grabbing his coat when I got scared.

But then again, they called me a Scaredy-cat for a reason. And a damn good reason it is. Literally EVERYTHING that is bigger than me, scarier than a kitten, and sharper than a baseball bat can make me run away while crying loudly.

"Okay, so now, where do you want me to cook it?" Asuna asked up.

Crap, then there's that problem. I've only been using the free cooking pots on the inns, and I think Kirito's one of those guys who also stays in the inns. We had the cash needed, but we don't know where to spend it. Buying a house is good, but then again, you'll need a lot of teleport crystals if you want to teleport in and out of your floor, so it's somewhat inefficient. Weapons? We got the best swords on our level for now. Armor? I don't want to. Food? Hunt and cook, simple. Yeah, that's the dilemma on our Cols.

Long story short, we don't actually have a place to cook. Asuna smiled knowingly. "You two probably don't have any cookwares at your place, huh?" You read our mind and spoke it aloud, Asuna. "Well, just this once, and because the ingredient is so good, we can use my place instead."

Our sudden shock made me loss my grip from Kirito's coat. "E-eh?!"

The vice leader of the Knights of Blood turned to her... Guardian? "That'll be all for today. You can go back to the HQ."

The man gave us a glare... Oh no... Not that! "Asuna-sama, you can't just let these two suspicious person into your home." '-sama'? What the fudge?

"These two may be suspicious, but they're also very skilled." H-hey! What do you mean by 'us being suspicious'? "They're probably ten levels above you, Kuradeel." Kuradeel? That name sounds so dumb. Sounds like a name for a donkey, LOL!

"Are you suggesting that they're superior than me?" He frowned, then his eyes went wide in realization. "Oh, I see! They're one of those beaters..."

You want to play that game, eh? Let's dance. "She's not '_suggesting_'... She's simply stating the fact." I spoke up calmly. "And oh yeah, you're right on me being the beater part." I swear, my psychotic personality always shows up when trouble comes.

He tutted at me, further narrowing his eyes at me. "Asuna-sama! All they care about is themselves! Nothing good will come if you're being around with them!"

I could see at the tip of my eyes, people and NPCs stopping their activities, and began to look at the argument at hand.

"What's going on?"  
"What are they doing?"  
"That's the Lightning Flash Asuna!"  
"You're right! She's really cute!" (Seriously?)  
"Who's that guy right there?"  
"They're from the top guild!"  
"Yeah... The Knights of Blood, huh?"

Several chatters broke up from them and some reached our ears. I couldn't help but let my eyebrows twitch when someone said something about Asuna being cute and all.

"Just... Go home. This is an order from the vice-commander." She ordered, before turning her body and dragged us along with her. I could feel it though... The intense hate coming out from him as his glare continued on. I couldn't help but let my left red eye took control and glared back at him, this time with a maniacal grin plastered on my face. Perks of being a split-personality teenager... Having random conflicts and my other personality kicking in and all...

But still, I could also see a flash of thin green, red, and black armor shoving the crowd. I instinctively let my body go from Asuna's death grip. Both the fencer and the black swordsman looked at me with a confused face of their own.

Just by then, a friendly archer came to our image.

"Sinon-san!" Asuna exclaims, a bit cheerfully, despite the heavy situation we're just in.

Her breathing is rapid, as if she just ran a 10 KM race. "Asuna, Kirito, Nameless-san! Are you all okay? I-I saw that man and..."

Kirito raised his hands, trying to calm the situation down. "Whoa, Sinon, relax. He's a member of Asuna's guild. He meant no harm."

"Ditto." I raised my finger as well.

She stared at us for a couple of seconds. "What are you guys doing?"

"Oh we're just about to go to my house, Kirito-kun here caught a Ragout Rabbit, and we're just about to cook it over at my place. You wanna come too, Sinon-san?" Asuna cheerfully offered. "Oh, and Noname-kun here is also helping..."

Wow, really? I was ready to offer my life to taste that rabbit, and Asuna here just invites Shino to her house, JUST LIKE THAT? Ahaha... I'm depressed.

* * *

Instead of using our teleportal crystals, we took our sweet time and walked over to the 61st floor. The floor itself consisted of more smaller islands with the main land connecting the main city to the dungeon. We arrived at the smaller island called Selmburg, and considering that we walked eleven floors all the way up here, it's already getting late, and the sun's beginning to set, painting the sky with a deep orange color. The area is peaceful, and empty, and big.

"Wow, it's huge and empty." Kirito commented, even his voice echoed out. "It's really liberating."

"Then you all should just move here." Asuna suggested, not even bothering to look back. "Plenty of spaces here and there..."

I sighed. "We don't have the Cols needed to buy one."

"Anyway, Asuna-san... Are you sure that you're okay with the man back there? I heard him yelling at you three for quite some time." Shino...

Even with her back turned, I could still see her smile disappearing. "I told them that I don't require an escort, but they said it's the policy for leaders. The commander used to personally invite everyone, we were just a small guild. But, we began getting more and more people after people started to call us the strongest guild. Everything just got weird after that."

Uneasy silence, and then the bell from the main island tolls six times, signalling that it's now sundown (18:00 Aincrad Standard Time). The urge to turn my eyes to the setting sun was too great. So I shifted my left eye to take in the view. The sparkling ocean reflecting the orange colored skies, with the sun, already threatened to sink to the horizons. I saved a screenshot of this view via the NerveGear's implanted camera to capture the VRMMO's views.

Asuna turned her face to look at us. "Well, it's no big deal really, so you guys shouldn't worry about it too much." She smiled at us. That comment reminded me of my old, carefree self, though. Hah, good times. "Now, let's hurry, it's getting dark."

We nodded to each other and fastened our pace.

* * *

We arrived at Asuna's house at the island, it's like a very small apartment complex if you ask me. A small block of space. The house just composed of some rooms, kitchen, main living room, which includes a small dining area, a bedroom, a bathroom, etc. It's a small but nice place, really. The place itself is really clean and fresh, Asuna really put her effort to keep this place look like it's practically untouched. And that effort is not wasted indeed. The house looks really damn great.

"E-excuse us..." Kirito welcomed himself into the house, and probably did us a favor and also excused me and Shino into the tan colored building. For quite some time, we had to admire the small room, it's neat, tidy, dreamy.

I suddenly feel some curiosity building up inside me. "How much did all of this cost?"

Asuna hummed thoughtfully, scanning the place as well as the furniture. "Well, the room as well as the furnishings were probably around 4.000.000 Cols." Four Mega Cols, huh? "I'm gonna go get changed, you guys just make yourselves at home, alright?" She smiled at us, before walking into a room, which I quickly hypothesized to be her bedroom.

Kirito was quick to plop himself to a comfy chair at the main living room, Shino followed suit, I just rested my back on the wall and crossed my arms. Our eyes were snapping left and right, examining the small house.

"Four million Cols... I'm pretty sure that I've saved up that much..." Shino muttered to herself, somewhat impressed with the vice-leader of the Knights of Blood.

Just a few seconds, Asuna walked out again, now with something much more comfortable to wear, rather than that KoB armor of hers. It's like a modern-simplified clothing, matched to the 'semi-medieval' lore of the VRMMO. I swear... I could see Kirito getting a blood rush with that long stare of his. While Asuna just lazily walked over to us.

"How long do you guys plan to stay dressed like that?" She asked.

Well... This dress shirt is surely not that comfortable, and there's this zip up jacket, my oversized weapons, the trousers, the sneakers... Everyone else present in the room were also wearing their full combat gear. And I say, it IS a little uncomfortable. So...

A minute later, everything changed. Kirito's now wearing a simple black shirt with some white linings visible, kind of similar to his trench coat, a pair of black trousers, and simple black sandals, just like that. Shino's now wearing a teal-green turtleneck with a black skirt that reached just before her knees, while me... A white collared shirt, similar to my dress shirt but more comfortable, dark blue trousers, black sandals, and I've changed my goggles to a simple square framed glasses with minus lenses, now my heterochromic eyes can be seen clear as day. And of course, all of us have already dismissed our weapons.

All four of us are now in the kitchen area, Asuna and Kirito had already trade for the meat, while I took out some extra ingredients such as the seasonings, vegetables, Class-A meats, and etc. Asuna herself puts the meat in a cooking tray.

She analyzed the large meat, her eyes sparkling in wonder. "Wow, so this is the legendary S-Class meat, huh?" She asked the question to no one in particular. "So, how do you guys want it? Fried? Baked?"

Kirito only gestured his hand lowly to us. "Chef's choice." He answered, Shino agreeing with a fast nod.

"If I may suggest? Let's stew it." I raised my left hand, my right hand still busy picking out the ingredients and the materials needed. Oh, how I longed to get myself a stew, especially when it comes to this...

Asuna pouts at my suggestion, before nodding as well. "That's a great idea, Noname-kun! Well, a stew it is!" She summons a cooking pot. "It's a Ragout Rabbit, so why just not make a Ragout stew?"

She summoned a few more high class ingredients from herself before cutting it with the knife. I myself began to cut the ingredients of my own, and mix 'em up to create the perfect seasoning for the stew as well as the other dishes. She's humming a sweet tune to herself, this made my usual image of her being bossy and all that during battle to disappear completely. I smiled tinily to myself, letting the sharp knife to dance on the prepared ingredients set on the table before us.

"Normally, you'd have to do a lot more in real life... Cooking in SAO is oversimplified, so it's boring." She admitted in all good nature, the smile still present on her face.

I find myself chuckling at her comment on the cooking system here in the game. "Now that, I could agree. Now, what should we put in the stew to season it?" I asked, but before she could answer, I pressed on for unknown reasons. "Ah, what about this? A mixture of some salt, pepper, and spices to add up the flavors?" I suggested, raising a vial filled with my own mix of my favorite seasoning.

She stared at the vial, before shaking her head, disagreeing my suggestion. "How about use mine instead? It's like a tomato sauce with some more spices and flavor in it. It could really bring this stew up a notch."

Little did I know that this is going to be an argument between us. We would argue which seasoning is better, like a pair of kids, we would get into a 'Yeah-Uh!' and 'Nuh-Uh!' type of comments. It was really random, oh God and how stupid it was... Just to decide what to use.

"U-uhm, Asuna-san, Nameless-san? Why not just mix it?" Came Shino's small voice. Both of us broke apart from our mental conflict, and stared at her, suddenly a bar went up besides Shino's 'Cooking' skill.

'**Sinon: Cooking Skill +250**'

Silence.

"Let's just do that." ... "Agreed."

We continued to make our dishes in silence. Not in a bad way, though... But I still feel a little awkward to talk to Asuna right about now, seeing how our argument was ended by a simple comment by the archer beside us. Kirito himself was holding back his laugh, Kirito... You... Asuna was making the appetizer while me, just like my promise, I'm making the side dishes and the deserts. A few good ol' meat sandwiches and some meat loaf won't hurt, right? I threw in some extra vegetables just for the sake of it.

_Ding!_ Ah, the stew's done!

All of us gathered at the main table, Asuna herself was carefully pulling the hot pot out from the oven and into the table. She smirked at us, before finally opening the pot for us to see its contents... Holy crap, that thing smells amazing... It also looks amazing. All of us were just staring into the pot's contents with eyes widened and literal sparks coming out from it. A loud gulp went down Kirito's throat. I think that's our cue...

Let's dig in!

* * *

The four of us now sat together at the square table on the living room, it's small, so we could only have a person on each side. We divided the stew for 1/4th for each person on the dinner. We sat, ate, exchange jokes and inappropriate talks that made us laugh, smirk, angry, and even get the feeling of a blood rush. And for some reason, I got that odd feeling a lot. A few hours later, it's nighttime, and we finished our meals, and now are just enjoying the tea Asuna had prepared for us.

"Whew..." Asuna sighed happily, eyes closed. "I've been here in two years, and this is the first S-Class ingredient I've had." She smiled. "I'm just glad that I've survived this long to find out what it tastes like..."

I raised my cup. "True that, Asuna-san..."

"But in all honesty, your stew tastes really good, Asuna-san." Shino took a sip of her tea.

The said chef giggled. "Aw, really? I mean, your meat loaf isn't bad too, I even think it's good! And your seasonings surely made the stew tastes even better! What's your secret, Iron Chef?" Asuna shot me a grin.

I only gave a pathetic, half-laughed 'hmph' as a response. "Aw shucks. You're a master chef. I still got much to learn, especially from you."

Our laugh quickly died down. "It kind of feels weird, actually... Like I was actually born and raised here for my entire life... It's just like a feeling."

"There are even days that I can't remember the outside world. And it isn't just me... Recently, fewer and fewer people have been giving their all to clear the game... Some stopped, some other withdrew..." Kirito informed with a straight tone.

Asuna seems to be supporting the theory further with a sad nod. "From what I've heard... There are now fewer than 500 players that are still fighting on the front lines. Everyone just grow accustomed here..." More silence.

"Still, that reason is still not good enough for us just to stop hoping, right?" I asked, lifting the mood up. "I still want to go back, despite the fact that this is happening right now. We still got a whole lot of life in front of us, and I'm not going to waste it just to play this game." Yeah... I've changed.

The raven haired archer at the other side tilted her head up and down at my statement. "I do agree with him... Unless we do our best, it isn't fair for the merchants as well as the other players who are giving their all to support us."

An equal satisfied smile from all of us.

Everyone took one sip of our tea, and suddenly, Asuna gave Kirito an unamused look, she raised her hand and tilts it left and right to disapprove it. "Please, stop it." She said simply, causing all of us present in the room to look at her with a bewildered face. "Lots of people with that same expression have propposed to me. So please, if you're thinking about it, just drop it."

Wh-wha?! Our knees banged the table simultaneously, me, Shino, and of course, Kirito could feel the sudden blood rushing inside our veins and into out face.

Seeing our shocked and flustered expression, Asuna giggled loudly. "Wow, you guys aren't good when it comes to this, huh?" She joked, of course, in good humor.

Kirito was quick to retaliate, with his sudden blood rush gone and his usual nearly stoic look returning to his face. "S-so what? We're solo players..." He grumbled, taking a quick and deep sip from his tea. Shino's recovery, however was pretty much the same as mine, a lot of stutters, body flinching, and what not.

"Oh yeah... Don't all of you want to join a guild?" Asuna suddenly asked, the last bit of humor now gone from her face. "I know that most of the beta testers don't fit in with groups. But still... Ever since we hit the 70th floor, the monsters' algorithms seems to be getting more and more irregular." Now that, I can agree. The mobs and AIs spawned during the dungeon are now more... Smart, ambushing players, using skills of their own... Casualties have been increasing by a significant rate, lately... Normal AIs turned into mini-bosses...

Because we can't think of anything else to say, we just gave her a nod.

"There are things that solo players can't handle on their own. And... You can't always warp out." She continued.

Kirito only shrugged his shoulders, taking more sips from the tea. "Just so you know, the three of us here keep a solid safety margin. And Dash-san always works in pair with Sinon here. Besides... I think party members are more likely to hinder me rather than to actually help me." He scowled. Are you implying that me and Shino are a liability, Kirito? Now you take that back-

"Oh?" _FLASH_, The next thing we know, there's a butter knife being held by Asuna, with its tip nearly touching the black swordsman's neck. And everyone present in the room are glaring at him, me included.

Kirito wiped a bead of cold sweat and defensively raised his hands. "I-I get it! Except for you guys here!"

"Hmph, that's right." The strawberry blonde haired girl withdrew her knife.

Okay, another note to self... Never mess with a kind girl. Especially when the girl is a vice-leader of the Knights of Blood guild.

Just as Kirito let out a loud sigh, Asuna opened her mouth. "Then let's party up again! It's been forever since I joined up with you three."

I choked on my drink.

"Black is my lucky color for this week, you know." Asuna spins her knife around... Uhm... What does that have to do with partying up again?

I coughed a few times. "B-but what about your guild, Asuna-san?"

"We don't have any leveling quotas."

Shino was next to ask. "And that 'escort' of yours?"

"I'll just ditch him." She answered nonchalantly, inviting all of us into a party, a notification showed up in all of our HUD, both Shino and I just shrugged and just accepted the invitation anyway.

E-erh, okay this is going into wrong directions... Kirito is going to throw in his last quarter to ditch himself out from this situation. "The front lines are dangerous-"

_FLASH._ Okay, where'd that knife come from? And did Asuna just activated a damn sword's skill, ON A DAMN BUTTER KNIFE? That look on her face, though... With her bangs shadowing her eyes... I find myself rolling on the ground with an empty look on my face, from what Shino says afterwards, she said that I kept muttering something like '_It's too fast! It's too fast!_' I... Err... Didn't expect that to happen.

"F-Fine..." Kirito whimpered. Wow, that made him broke, huh? He finally accepts the invitation.

And with that, Asuna dismisses her scary look and deactivated her sword- err, butter knife skill, before smiling cheerfully again at us

* * *

It's now late, nearing 20:00 Aincrad Standard Time, and the skies are now colored in dark blue, nearly black color. The streets are now pretty much empty. The street lights have turned themselves on, and the stars have showed up, the light dots in the skies decorated the night skies of Aincrad, despite on them, being not real and all, but still, it's still a really beautiful sight to see. We're at the front door of Asuna's house, now our normal armor planted on our bodies again.

"I suppose I should thank you all for today." The master chef smiled at us. "Thank you for the meal!"

I shook my head. "No, no, Asuna-san... Thank YOU for the meal."

"And you as well." Kirito replied to both of us, I guess. "I'll be sure to ask you two again if I get another big catch like this again."

Shino, being the most quiet one in the group, finally opened her mouth. "Well... But if you're skilled enough, you can still make good food even with the normal classed ingredients."

Everyone then went silent, as we turned our gaze to the night skies of Aincrad.

Kirito breathed out a tired sigh. "The way the world is right now... Is this really what Kayaba Akihiko wanted to make?"

Kayaba Akihiko? Is that the name of the GM? But setting all things aside... I don't think we could answer the question just yet, Kirito.

Because... "I don't know."

* * *

**Server Five : Passed ; Authenticating players to the next server . . .**

* * *

**-Dev's Log-**

Boom, chapter five.

Bad news, it's flooding here in my city, and the water's nearly inside my house, I want to make this chapter before the electricity goes out, so this one is SO RUSHED, I couldn't even make references from real life or other gaming events and / or themes. Just a side note, sorry for the quality and the length of this chapter, I just thought that we also need a slice of life thing even in this story, so here's this chapter.

And woohoo, our first flame. Thank you for your somewhat negative review, Mr. Partsu, someone actually realized that this story actually sucks. Although next time, I would love your input to help me improve my writing, rather than just saying 'What the Fudge', and that this story had the **_MOST_ **confusing prologue **_EVER_**. You just haven't seen the rest of my stories bro, they can go even more confusing than this one :p

So... Nothing to explain... So, bring on the flames, guys (but yeah I would love your input too, rather than just saying this story is good, while I think it sucks, lol) ... Because, yeah, this story sucks. -_-


	7. Double Trouble

I'm late... I'm just so goddamn late. We're supposed to meet up at floor 74's Kamdet to do some clearing. Nothing serious, though. Just killing some enemies, doing some grinding in the process. The problem is... We're supposed to meet up at 10:00 AST sharp. **_I_** being the _morning person_ and all, woke up at 10:02. Why do I have the feeling of a sudden Deja Vu? Like this happened two years ago... Argh forget it, I'm always poor at time management.

It's October 18th already. Time flew pretty damn fast, heck, maybe I'll even have the chance celebrate Shino's sweet seventeen birthday here at SAO if we're still trapped. Although... I'd rather celebrate it with her in the actual real life, rather than here. I've had enough of this death game, thank you, once again, GM, the graphics aren't that bad, but the gameplay sucks. The enemies are still overpowered.

... Battlefield VII still has better graphics, even if the game only existed as a simple FPS for PCs and some next-gen consoles such as PlayStation V and Xbox 720. I hope there'll be an VRMMOFPS coming soon for the NerveGear system, though.

So! Back to the topic at hand, I just shot out of my inn's bed, and quickly put my armor on, I found myself stumbling over 'Immortal Objects' inside the room. One mouthed curses after another, I finally made myself into town, and I quickly pulled out my teleportation crystal. I could already imagine their mad faces... But the thing I do not want the most is another argument with Shino.

I frantically activated the crystal I have in my hands. "Warp: Kamdet!" I declared, before seeing a blinding light and a bunch of binary numbers.

* * *

**Sword Art Online: Virtually Real**

**-Logging Into Server Six-**

**Server Name: Double Trouble**

**-Log In Complete. Please Enjoy The Game-**

* * *

The blinding light dies down, and as soon as I regained my vision back, my eyes met a handful of crowd, hustling over something. Curious, I decided to walk over to them. Most of the players present are consisted of clearers and high levels, huh, must be something interesting, since it got their attention. I could hear several quiet chatters, as well. There's a 'duel' taking place here? Damn it, due to my short height, I can't really see who's battling who. But I think it's someone important, seeing this crowd and all.

Then, I could feel something or someone tugging my left arm. Alarmed and startled, I suddenly activated my sword skill on the Nameless Sword. I swung the blade hastily but it quickly stopped when I saw the person who's grabbing my arm. _Shino_. The sword stopped just an inch away from her head. Then, there's silence. Our eyes were both widened. My different colored eyes were showing signs of immediate mental break down.

She's scared. Seriously. There's signs of shock, surprised, and of course, absolute fear and horror, shown in her eyes and face just now.

"Fuc- Fudge." I breathed out. "Sh-Shino... I'm sorry. I-I didn't..." I muttered out, my tone itself were one of those mixtures of guilt and fear. My knees suddenly went weak, noticing the realization that I almost hit, no... Kill, my very first friend. Damn it. If my hand didn't stop back then... Argh, damn it!

She stared at me. Before shaking her head. "N-No, it's my fault... I-I shouldn't do that so suddenly... Especially in a crowd like this."

"No, it's my fault... B-but we can continue this later." I dismissed the topic, remind me that I still owe her an apology. "So... What' the story? It's pretty rare for someone like you to just grab my hand and pull me out. You know I have issues with something like that, right?" I half-joked, trying to defuse the still heavy situation.

I can see the color of her face slowly returning. Whew. "I-It's that... The duel... I think you might want to see this." She's still a bit scared, huh?

Please remind me... PLEASE, I owe her an apology. "Yeah...? What about it?" I tried to stand on the tip of my toe in order to gain a few more Centimeters of height, but sadly, I still can't see the duelists. "No good, we need to find a better position."

Shino gestured her hand to the left. "Follow me, then. There's Asuna waiting for us too."

Asuna's already here too huh? I opened my mouth but nothing came out of it. I only giver her a nod as a response. We jogged lightly to the western part of the crowd, with each step I take, there's more people coming in to gather, must be a real something... Damn it, now I'm getting more and more curious. Who're exactly battling right now? I would occasionally tip toe, but I can't still reach the height needed to see the competitors, damn it, the match'll start in 30 seconds.

"Sinon, No-name-kun!" That voice...!

"Asuna-san!" I waved to her, then proceeds to jog lightly to her. Looks like she saved a spot for the two of us to fit in. I gladly took the spot. But what I saw next... What. The. Fudge. I let my jaw dropped when I saw the next set of images entering my eyes. It's Kirito, accepting to duel with... Who's that guy? Kuradeel? If I'm not mistaken... yeah, Kuradeel... Seriously, that sounds like a name for a damn freaking donkey.

"Kirito, the beta tester is dueling Kuradeel? The member of the KoB?"  
"This'll be fun."  
"Dude, that Kuradeel guy looks pissed."  
"5000 Cols on Kirito!"  
"I think the winner is obvious."

More chatters erupted between the players that are watching the scene.

"Just watch carefully, Asuna-sama... I'll probe that only I can protect you." Bull...Crap... Seriously... But I don't really know if that's a taunt to provoke Kirito, or he's just being proud to himself. That guy is wielding one large two-handed great sword. Its size is still smaller than my folding great sword in terms of width and length though... Can't say for its striking speed. Better not judge the book by its cover for now. He may look like an idiot... But...

Kirito's still using his Elucidator huh...? Good kid doesn't want to spoil his... _OUR_ secret, huh? Both of them stood in their battling stance, and the silence as well as the tension lasts for the last twelve seconds. Both players are narrowing their eyes, as if giving each other an analyzing stare. Alright... Not long now, just a few more seconds... Three... Two... One... Go. A loud '_Beep!_' blared out, signalling that the duel has begun.

The two activated their sword skills and charged at each other at high speed. In a very quick pace, they swung their swords at full force, Kuradeel had this unnerving grin that could potentially break my morale if I wasn't on my 'serious' mode. Too bad I'm not IN that mode right now. So yeah, I can feel my feet trembling, and a sweat escaped from my forehead. Though, my eyes were still focused... Who... Will... Win?

_WHTANG!_

It happened in less than a second. The next thing I know, there's a broken blade on the ground, and the two duelists are now a few meters apart from each other. Wa-wait. Whose blade's that? I squinted my eyes, the blade is colored in tan with silver linings on the edge. That's obviously not the Elucidator. I sighed in relieve. Kuradeel's expression was in a mixture of shock and anger at the same time.

The said 'escort' for the Vice Leader of the Knights of Blood gingerly lifted his broken sword upwards. "I-Impossible." No... It's actually possible. I could feel my hand instinctively reaching to slap my forehead. This guy's being too dramatic for such a simple sword, really. Less than three seconds later, Kuradeel's sword disintegrates to crystal pieces. He slumped forward, with his knees first hitting the ground and head hung low in shame.

"W-wow"  
"Th-that was fast."  
"I win! Hand me that Col!"  
"That was amazing."  
"He destroyed the weapon..."  
"Was that actually deliberate?"

Ignoring the chatters between the crowd, Kirito simply sheaths his sword. "If you want to try it again with another weapon, I'm okay with it." He spoke up in his usual calm tone. "But I think that's already enough, isn't it?"

With an irritated growl, Kuradeel opened up his inventory and pulled another two handed sword out. "**RRAAGGHH!**" He charged forward again. Wait! He... He didn't proposed another duel! Then that means... He's actually trying to attack... No... He's trying to kill Kirito. Is he mad or something?! I mean, Kirito had already sheathed his sword and all! Coward trying to take advantage of the situation, huh?

I placed my left hand on the Blade of Nobody, without any needed cue, I ran towards them, and swung my silver-blue-cyan colored long sword vertically, of course, using my left hand, since switching to the other would take too much time. Another loud '_Whtang!_' happened, and my attempt to try to disarm him was proven successful. His long sword flew off from his hands and landed a few meters away from us and the bystanders. I must've looked a bit creepy, glaring at him with my left eye and all.

Before he could even react, Asuna was already there to separate the conflict. "Kuradeel, that's enough!" She commanded, her booming voice echoed throughout the large and pretty much empty area.

"A-Asuna-sama..." Kuradeel himself could only mutter her name out. Everyone had their eyes planted on the conflict, or maybe me, since, in their eyes, I'm an unwanted guest. "Th-they cheated! Both of them!" He pointed his index finer at us accusingly. "He must've used some kind of trick to destroy my sword! Otherwise, I couldn't have lost against this soloer!" He yelled, glaring at Kirito at the current moment, then... How's the sight, Donkey? I told you my heterochromic eyes aren't just for show... Look at this red iris a little bit longer, you'll go mad... That was a joke. "And... And he-"

All of us gave him an unimpressed look, but Asuna seems to have reach her limits. "Kuradeel." She spoke, silencing him. "This is an order from the vice-commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath. As of today, you are relieved of your escort mission. Stand by at guild HQ an wait until further orders." That was so military-ish. I... I should just stop thinking about other games.

She shot all of the players present a commanding look.

"That's all." And that's final.

Of course, the said escort was shocked to hear this. "Wh-what...?" He glared at us again. "You two..." He hissed. I was quick to return the glare, while Kirito seems to just shrug it off. At the tip of my right eye, I could see Shino, with a confused, and maybe scared look on her face. Maybe she was unsure on how to deal with this kind of situation.

Understandable. If I was shoved in a situation like this, I would just cry.

With an irritated and disgusted sigh, Kuradeel bent his body forward and hangs his head low in shame. He walks over to the main town portal of the floor and pulled his teleportal crystal out. "Warp: Grandzam." With that 'murder-added' word, he declared, not a second later, a light shroud his white-red clad armor, and he disappeared from all of our sights.

I think the situation was proven too much for Asuna, her knees are trembling, and she collapsed, just in time for Kirito to catch her, of course. I gestured my hand to let Shino into the field and she acknowledged my request. She skipped to us in a hurry. I also keep my eyes for anything or anyone suspicious. Although... Why... Do I have a bad feeling about this? Like we're bring watched? Ah... I'm just being paranoid again, I guess... There's like 50 people watching us, of course I do feel like we're being watched... Still...

_I..._

Asuna's recovery was rather quick, she stood up and regained her composure. "I'm sorry for involving you all in that." She apologized sincerely, her face showing signs of guilt.

"No... It's fine, really." Kirito's fast reply is well... Fast.

But, I'm still in the dark here. "Uhm... Could someone please tell me what the hell happened?" Silence. "Okay, I won't pry into the subject."

Asuna exhaled deeply. "I think the problem is me with my guild." She assumes a more relaxed stance, although the uneasy look on her face is still clearly visible. "I was just too focused on clearing the game, and I was too strict with the other guild members."

"Well..." Kirito seems to be hesitating for some reason. "Well, to be honest, I don't really know, but I think if you hadn't been so, we'd never come nearly as far as we are right now." That... Well... I don't know too.

Hearing that statement, it surprises the fencer. But he did have a point. "We're just a bunch of soloers here, Asuna-san. I believe we don't have the right to judge that matter whatsoever."

Shino? Oh I almost forgot about her. A quiet one, she is. "Still..." She spoke up, getting our attention in sync. "That's your choice whether to take the day to party with us on this day. I don't think that gives anyone, even the guild leader to complain about it."

Slowly, but of course, surely, the surprised look fades from her face, and a grateful smile replaces it instead. "Well... I guess I'll just say thanks, then. Alright then, we'll just take it easy down there." She then taps Kirito's shoulder with a mischievous grin. "You can play forward."

"E-eh...? W-wait a second! We take turns as forward!"  
"We can just do it tomorrow!"  
"Eh?!"  
"Come on! The enemies aren't going to kill themselves."

Both Shino and I just watched the whole scene with amusement. Aside that I've calmed down even more to force a smile, or the other half of my psychotic personality keeps getting worse so I actually forced a smile, damn this inner personality complex of mine. I should go check myself to a mental hospital as soon as this game is cleared... But either way...

* * *

...We're still going to commit genocide anyways... So who cares? LOL! Team Wermacht on the go! Ahem. Excuse me. Okay. now, we're in the dungeon of floor 74. And the freaking skeleton mobs made me run for my... Well... They're creepy, okay?! Again, sometimes I confuse myself, how the hell did I get to these higher levels when I'm so easily scared by even pettier mobs such as those apes from floor 35...? I'm already sixteen for God's sake... I need to chang- OH GOD, DON'T COME NEAR ME, YOU BEAST!

Everyone was doing most of their part here on the dungeon, while I took my sweet time... Running away from the battle while flailing the Nameless like an idiot. Oh, and since Asuna's here... Did I mention that she was fast even it was only floor one? I'll say it again... She's so freaking fast. Her fencing skills have definitely improved since the last time I've seen her. Her lightning quick stabs were just... Terrifyingly fast.

Next up in line is Kirito, still using his Elucidator. Still not going to use _that_, are you? His heavy slashes proved useful when switched over from Asuna, the black sword of his could easily pierce through the mobs' ranks with ease, his very high agility also made him easier to wield the heavy blade and to counter the enemy from behind to deliver the finishing blow.

Ah! Shino! Her nearly FTL (Faster Than Light) reaction time and perfect accuracy is just... Wow. That newly upgraded bow of hers... What was the name...? Ulysses? Right? Yeah, that, or something between that line, could take down one of that skeleton thing in just one shot to the head, if not, two at the max, don't forget her bow skills that could buff and increase the speed and sharpness of her projectiles as well.

And then there's me...

In all of honesty, teaming up with Asuna here sure made a lot of things easier. We cleared the area rather quickly. If we are to return without teleportation crystals, we should be able to do that without a scratch, since the enemies are now all gone. Kirito had the dungeon map open at all times while we trailed behind him. After a while of walking, we reached a straight line... Which only means.

"Everyone..." I began, breaking their attention from the FoW (Fog of War'ed) Map and into me instead. "There." I pointed to the distance, there, a tall, big, steel blue colored door stands menacingly. "But... Isn't that the..."

"It is." Kirito answered me flatly. "It's the boss room."

We walked over to the door, just to clear the last bit of the Fog of War, but once we have finally reached the tall gate, we stopped. Unsure on what to do.

"Wh-what should we do now, then?" Shino asked, maybe rather scared. I wouldn't lie, because I am too right now. I mean, it's just the four of us here, and...

Asuna flinched at the question. "Maybe... We can try to just take a look?"

"The boss monsters never leave the rooms they guard... So I think... If we just go in to take a peek, it should be fine... I think." You think? Kirito, you one **_#YOLO._**

I could feel some of my limbs twitching for no apparent reason. "Y-yeah, I think so too... But, we should have our teleportal crystals ready. Just in case."

"Right." With that, everyone pulled out their crystals out of their inventory and into their left hands and their weapons drawn in the other free one. With one last acknowledging nod from each other, we pushed the metal door lightly and it opens up slowly. The loud screeching sound made from the metal door grinding against the floor gave out an eerie feeling on it. When the door hits the rocks at the sides, a small tremor builds up. But after that... There was only silence and darkness.

No one made any noise, with a sudden adrenaline rush, our bodies stood rigid at place.

And yes, aside from that, my phobia of darkness kicks in again. "Th-there's nothing here..." I began.

As if curious, Kirito took a few more steps forward into the chamber, maybe he's trying to activate the boss's AI. And yeah, of course Asuna was also quick to hold him back. "Wait." She protested.

Kirito only brushed her hand away, although lightly, so he's somewhat denying the order politely. "It's okay. I won't go in too far. Besides, we also need to at least see the boss to formulate a plan in order on how to defeat it." Seeing that the KoB member relents after that, looks like his reasoning work out well.

"Well... Yeah. But still...-"

That's when the pedestal scattered on the chamber in a circular manner, build up their flames, at the blue fires came to life. The room became lit up with a soft blue hue. It's still dark, but at least there's enough visibility range for us to see... This.

Our eyes widened immediately when a large silhouette walked out of the shadows.

A towering... Big... Muscly... Hulking... Huge... MASSIVE...! Minotaur with dark crimson irises. Its fur is colored in dark blue, and it wears a minimal armor with golden linings. Its tail is... A freaking King Cobra snake. It has four thick live bars, and the name '**The Gleam Eyes**' was typed up over it. True to its name, the monster lets out a sharp and deafening roar, surprising all of us inside its chamber. Its eyes suddenly turned azure and it raises its giant cleaver-butcher-sword. That thing... It could sweep the four of us completely clean in just one swipe.

"E-Everyone? Wh-what now...?" The archer's small voice came out. Thanks for snapping me out of my thoughts, Shino.

"Guys... I-if I make a suggestion...?" I asked, a tremor in my voice.

Kirito himself gulped at me question. "Wh-what is it?" He asked me back.

"**_RUN!_**" I yelled, grabbing Shino's wrist and used my high agility to dash towards the door.

"I agree!" See?! Even Asuna agrees with me!

All the four of us mustered all of our strength and focused them to our feet. Using our agility skills alone, we ran as fast as we could, not even bothering to look back to the boss's chamber. Even after gaining a few distance away from it, its loud roar still reached our ears, this made us run even faster, we sprinted... No, DASHED, to the nearest clearing of the dungeon, ignoring all of the 'about to respawn enemies' on the way.

* * *

We slumped forward on the nearest wall to support our tired bodies, our breaths were rushed and our stamina are depleted. And knowing my very poor stamina, I was ready to pass out at the moment. Holy crap, that was creepy and tense. I think my mind broke down by a bit. I mean, combine THAT thing and plus the overwhelming darkness, you'll have me... Well... Doing _questionable_ things. But at least we got the data on the boss.

"That one's gonna be tough..." Asuna stated between her rushed breathing.

Kirito simply nodded, his breathing levels were elevated as well. "You got that right..."

Shino on the other hand seems only a bit tired despite all of the things. Oh yeah... I was the one who dragged her. She wasn't actually running. "The only weapon that I saw was that large sword... But I think there's more to it, I'm guessing special skills, especially when its final life bar reached the red zone." Again, her sharp eye of hers... I wonder if she wears glasses in real life?

"We're gonna need... At least... Ten tanks... Or heavy units... To keep blocking... That thing... And... We have to... Switch frequently..." I was still able to speak, surprisingly. Even with all of the oxygen inside my body spent on running away from the boss.

"I'd say... Around ten shield users too." Kirito added.

After those words left the swordsman's mouth, Asuna gave me and Kirito a skeptical look. "Shield users, huh...?"

"Wh-what?"

She nudged closer to us. "You two are hiding something, aren't you?" Just before I could answer she pressed on the matter even further. "It makes no sense. Kirito-kun, the biggest advantage for a one-handed sword is that you can use a shield on the other. But I've never seen you with one. While..." She then turned her face to me. "You always prefer light one-handed greatswords, leaving your other hand free as well... Why's that?" She asked. "Oh, and before you two ask me the same question, I just don't want to mess with the speed of my rapier."

Crap. Why's she pressing into this matter out of all topic? "W-well..."

"You two got new swords from Liz too, right? Why aren't you two using them instead?" She continued to barrage us with questions we DO NOT want to answer. At least for the time being. "It's suspicious..."

I quickly turned my face to Shino, silently pleading for her assistance on this one, she only shrugged and gave me a look that says '_It's your problem, you deal with it'_. Then, I turned my face to Kirito, both of us had the same look that pretty much gave away our secret... Damn it. Damn it! Damn-

"Well, it doesn't matter, really." Asuna's cheerful smile returned.

E-eh?

"I think it's impolite to ask people about their skills." Good Lord... that was too close for both of our comfort. Kirito and i sighed in extreme relieve. "Anyways... It's later than I'd hoped, but let's eat!" She opened her inventory and summoned a basket of food.

"Wh-what?" Was our combined response. I mean, she ACTUALLY brought food into battle?! Holy crap!

"Wow." Shino muttered in amazement. "Did you make all of these all by yourself, Asuna? That's amazing!" She complimented.

Wow, a flustered expression? Nah... I'm just tired from all of the running. "Y-yeah." She answered with a whisper-tone. "Alright, just don't forget to remove your gloves before you eat!" She opened the basket to reveal some sandwiches as well as some drinks inside.

Reflexively, I looked down to my hands. I don't wear gloves, though...

"Here you go!" She handed all of us a piece of her homemade bread.

Kirito eagerly took a large bite from it. "Th-fhis ish goof!" He commented with his mouth full of bread and meat.

Curious, I decided to take a bite myself. Oh. My. God. "_Awesome_." I said, my eyes probably sparkling in wonder.

"I agree... These tastes really good!" And Shino... Her dark irises widened and a smile etched on her lips. "But I do wonder... How'd you get this perfect taste?"

Asuna grinned at us. "A year of training and study." She plops in countless of info of recipes and blogs about seasonings. I was sure to take screenshots every three seconds or so. "Aincrad has around one hundred seasonings. And to make it, I calculated all the parameters the flavor-recreation engine uses, oh and I brought some of them here too!"

She began to show us some of her mixture of seasonings, amazing. Simply amazing... There's soy sauce and mayonnaise... Although I hate mayonnaise with ALL of my passion, I still find it impressive for her to actually create real life ingredients using only the game's available flora and / or faunas. Then again, I expect nothing less from a master chef like her. I still got MUCH MUCH more to learn.

Our discussion about toppings and food later dissolved into simple friendly chatters.

Until a group enters the area, that is. We immediately stood up, maybe a bit alarmed by their sudden entry on the field. I almost pulled out my weapons, but seeing that they're players just like us, I relent. From what we could see, this guild is... Red. Well... Yeah, red. Well... They're wearing sengoku-era armors as well as its weaponry. Katanas... Spears... Etc... And... Is that the Takeda Clan's crest?! Holy crap!

The members looks exhausted, probably due to long journey. Lazy chatters are heard from the group, but when they also saw us, they stopped, and a collected 'Eh?' came from all of them.

"Oh! Kirito!" The man in the center, I presume the leader chime brightly. He jogged to us with a friendly grin plastering his face. "It's been a while!" Full sengoku-era armor, complete with its katana, red hair... unshaven beard... Erh...

Kirito's reaction, however, shows signs of mild annoyance for some reason. "Oh... You're still alive, Klein."

"Ah, Shucks, you're always such a downer!" Then he noticed our small party. "Eh? Aren't you a solo? Why do you have these three... With... you..." He trailed off, his eyes stuck on Asuna, then slowly shifting to Shino. "W-Wehh...?!" He froze. I'm not sure if he's smiling or in the state of shock... Is he lagging?

"Um... I'm sure you guys've met him during some of our boss fights, but I'll introduce him to you guys." Kirito gestured his hands to us. "Dash-san, Sinon, Asuna, this is Klein from the guild of Fuurinkazan." Whoa... Even the guild's name has some resemblance to the Takeda clan! Impressive! Someone's been doing their history lessons. "And Klein, this is Asuna from the Knights of the Blood Oath. These two to my side is Sinon and..." My username, huh? "You can call him whatever you want, although he prefers to go by the name of 'Nameless'. They're also soloers like me."

The three of us gave an introducing bow. Which I kinda messed up. Way to build up my first impression... Ugh.

He's still not moving... "Hey... Say something, will you?" Kirito waved his hand over Klein's shadowed eyes. "You lagging or something?"

He bowed down with a hand held between Shino and Asuna. "H-Hello, M-my name's K-Klein! I'm 24, single, and looking for a girlfrien- **_WAGH!_**" Boom! A Critical Hit, right to the nads! Damn! Score one for Kirito! I flinched painfully when the black swordsman's fist made contact with the red-haired man's... Uhm... _Precious Thing_.

"**LEADER!**" Came the rest of the guild's response. They immediately boxed us in with an unreadable and stern look on their faces. Both Kirito and I almost drew our swords... But that wasn't necessary.

"Th-that's Asuna-san!"  
"You're right! She's a cutie!"  
"Who's that cute archer girl over there?"  
"I take the first dip!"  
"C-call me!"  
"We should party up!"

**_E-EH?!_** What the hell?! Seriously? They're practically ignoring their downed guild leader and charged in at us. Kirito and I, in panic, held them back.

"Th-they're not that bad...! The leader's face aside!" Kirito summed it up pretty well... Then someone stomped his foot. "Engh?! K-Klein?!"

That recovery was horrifyingly fast...

"Tell me! Whaddya doin' here with a girl?!"  
"She's not my girl! Sinon here's..."  
"Don't lie to me now!"  
"I swear! Ask Dash-san right here if you don't believe me! Asuna here's also..."

I'm staying out of this! I raised my hands and pulled away from the scene. Then, loud metal footsteps can be heard getting louder and louder by the second. Everyone stopped all of their activities as well as their chatters and snapped their views to the left. About twenty plus armored men is walking to our position. They all looked fully grown. I can't see any teens like us inside it. A big guild that one...

"Who are they?" I asked, confused.

Klein shot me a scolding look. "You don't know them? Really? They're the big guild that runs the first floor, kid!" He told me. "Although, yeah, I do wonder what are they doing this far up."

"From what I've heard, that guild took massive damage on the 25th floor, so they've been focusing on strengthening their guild rather than clearing levels." Asuna added. "They stopped showing up on the frontlines."

The group stops before us, and the man on the center, once again, I presume to be the leader, turn his body to face his men. "At ease!" At once, the members drop their weapons and slumped down on the floor, loud groans and sighs are heard from them... Damn it looks like they've been walking from the 25th floor straight to here without the use of teleportal crystals. I mean, just look at them!

The man approached us. Dude... Can he even see with that helmet on his head? It covers his eyes!

"I am lieutenant colonel Corvatz from the Aincrad Liberation Army." And I'm General George S. Patton from the US Armed Forces' 304th Tank Brigade. Seriously, who the fudge uses RANKS in this game?! Although I do respect the General... Awesome guy he is during the WW eras.

"Kirito, Solo." The swordsman replied with his straight tone.

"Have you cleared the area up ahead?"

"Yeah, and we have a map up to the boss's room." I answered this one for him.

He nods, and adds a 'Hmph'. "Then I'd like you to give us the map data."

This angers Klein. "For free?! What are you, nuts?!" He yelled. "Do you know how much of a pain mapping is?! We're talking about recons risking their lives here!"

"We share information and resources equally to all!" He retorts back. "We maintain order in battle, to liberate all players from this game as quickly as possible-"

Map data... Sent. "You were saying?" I yawned. Wh-why are you guys glaring at me like that? "Wh-what?"

Kirito only sighed. "Nevermind... We're also going to share this info to the players back in town too anyway..."

Corvatz gave another 'Hmph' as a response. "We thank you for your cooperation." He turned back to his men.

"Wait." I spoke up again, tone bit lower than usual. "If you're trying to pick a fight with the boss, I strongly recommend you to do against it."

"That's my decision to make." He replied to me.

What?! "No, Lieutenant, you don't understand, we just looked in the room, the boss is out of your guild's league! You won't get anywhere with only a few people! At least wait for the actual main force to arrive." Shino, I appreciate the back-up.

"Not to mention, your party's also exhausted." Kirito added grimly.

The '_Lieutenant_' swung his cape. "My men aren't so weak and frail to give in that easily!" He yelled right back at us. "Stand up, men!" His booming voice made the tired party to gingerly stand up and grab their spears again. More loud groans and tired sighs are heard from them, but no one dared to complain. We could only watch them walking away from us with a slow pace. Finally, they're out of out sight.

"Are they gonna be okay?" Klein asked, his eyes still focused on the distance.

"I don't think they'll be foolish enough to rush the boss..." Asuna commented.

"Well... We should at least go follow and keep an eye on them... Just in case." Kirito suggested. Klein and his guild gave us a determined look. Looks like they're willing to help. "Honestly... I don't know who's being nicer." He said to no one in particular as he walked away, Klein's guild members closely behind. Asuna and Shino followed suit. I was just about to do the same thing until Klein tapped my shoulder.

"Kid, wait up." He spoke, rather nervous, yet serious.

I turned my head back to him. "Klein-san?" I tilt my head.

"I know you probably spent a lot of time with Kirito out there on the front... But... He's really gloomy at times, unsociable, and maybe somewhat addicted to combat... But, please, can I put my trust on you to take care of Kirito for my sake?" He bowed down. He actually BOWED his head down.

I'm left speechless. My heterochromic eyes widened. I'm unsure of what to say. I mean, sure, he's right on most of the parts... But... "I... Understand." I finally forced a smile. "Right, I got your message. I'll keep him alive, no matter what." I smiled, somewhat confidently. "Now... Please... Raise your head." I think the drama is too much. This is the first time someone bowed down to me... I...

His trademark grin came back. "Thanks, kid."

"Right." I gestured my hands to the main group. "Now, shall we?"

* * *

We had to hurry. We HAD to hurry. We know that we had to hurry, yet the monsters are giving us no quarter. I wonder if The Army survives through this onslaught. We're so close to the boss's chamber now. I was literally slashing everything that gets in our way. Skeletons and lizards alike, all will fall. I sound like a damn villain-ish cliche. Still though... All that's left now is the boss room.

Klein and his guild is guarding our flanks. Looks like the mobs have reached their respawn time. This is bad. Our inner party decides to charge ahead, the closer we get to the chamber... We could hear more and more death wails. Damn it! This is why I don't want them to go! We've already had enough casualties as it is! What the hell's wrong with me? As a half-pacifist-half-psychotic, I should pretty much stay at the perfect equilibrium point of my split personality mental disease. I should really check my mental health after this game's over.

"Idiots!" Asuna yelled in anger.

We finally arrived at the boss room.

"Hey! Are you guys okay?!" Kirito was the first one to ask out loud.

What we saw afterwards... I could only describe it in one word. Horror. Bodies sprawled everywhere, the boss's health still at its fourth bar. Last time we met them just a few minutes back, there were twenty something men, now... There're only about less than ten.

"QUICK!" I yelled. "USE YOUR TELEPORTER CRYSTAL, GET OUT OF HERE!"

They tried to do so, but somehow the crystals won't activate. "No-No good! We can't teleport out of here!"

"I've... I've never seen a boss room with a trap like this before." Shino commented on the situation before our eyes, her voice betraying her battling stance.

"The Liberation Army never retreats!" Corvatz barked. "FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Kirito could only scowl. "Those fools..."

That's when Klein manage to catch up to us. "Oi! What's the situation?"

"They can't use teleportation crystals here..." I began. "We CAN go in to extract them out of that hellhole... But... With that boss still standing strong... Our chances are..." I trailed off, my finger ready to unsheathe my greatsword.

"So... You're saying that we can't do anything?!" Klein grunted.

"CHARGE!" Corvatz once again commanded, and his soldiers foolishly obeyed to his suicidal orders. I tried to yell 'STOP!' But it was too late. The boss used a breath attack and threw the army into a disarrayed position, then, it used this chance to cause havoc in the broken allied ranks. It swung its large blade on the ground, and a large shockwave was caused by it. It all happened so fast. The next thing that happened... Corvatz was already there in front of us, a large gash on his body and his health bar already in red.

In panic, I ran forward to him. "H-hey! Hang in there!" I quickly opened my inventory to search for a healing crystal. Come on. Come on! I know I keep it here! WHERE THE FUDGE IS IT?! Ah! Here it is!

His breaths and voice was cracking and trembling. "I-Impossible..." He breathed out with tears forming in his eyes.

"**_HEAL-_**"

He disintegrated to crystal pieces.

No... No... NO! DAMN IT!

"**_HEAL! HEAL! WHY WON'T YOU HEAL, DAMN IT?!_**" I yelled, my left hand kept on commanding on the healing crystal. "**_COME BACK TO LIFE, ALREADY! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!_**" I raged on, the red crystal in my hands won't activate.

"ARGH!" I raised my head, to see a member of The Army sprawled on the ground, his weapon broken, and Gleam Eyes ready to strike him down.

No more. "No..." I won't take any more losses. "You..." I hissed, unsheathing my greatsword, my eyes glaring at the boss. My objective is clear. My sights're set. My mind is empty. I. Will. Kill. This. Thing. "YOU BASTARD!" I charged forward.

"Nameless!" I could hear Shino as well as my other party members calling out my nicknames, although I payed it no mind, my feet kept on running to the boss.

I jumped high enough to get myself airborne. At least, this time, it'll do some damage to the boss's thick armor. Either way... This is a gamble. Either I can save this Army member and get away with it, OR, I can't save him AND I'll get sliced in half by that large sword in its hands. One shot. One chance. 50/50 chances of success. I will... I HAVE to do it. This is it... GM, give me your worst!

"**Void Splitter!**" I declared, launching me and my blade forward with all of the force I could muster. When the tip of my greatsword made contact with the Gleam Eyes' back, it discharges a force, so powerful, that it could even pierce through the dungeon's walls. The said boss monster stumbled when I did so. "How's that?!" I taunted. Unfortunately... This monster's armor is thicker than the dungeon's walls. It only flinched. Damn it, this is going to be tough.

Gleam Eyes turned is face to me. I was just about to strike again, it countered my slash with its thick skin and before I could even intercept its next attack, my eyes met a handful of large fist heading straight for me. Fu-

"ARGH!" I yelled, my body was thrown away to the ground. The sudden fist made me lose my vision for some seconds. The binary codes blinded me for some time. I quickly dusted myself off, my health quickly dropping into yellow, but that thing is even quicker. It's about to swing its sword, when...

"Dash-san!" I could hear Kirito's voice getting closer and closer. With lightning speed, he was already in front of me, countering the attack of the boss. "Asuna, switch!" That is also when Asuna charge in with her rapier and stabs the boss a few times with her skill. The boss was thrown off guard by our sudden offensive strategy. When it's about to strike back at us, a single arrow flies out of nowhere, and hits the boss on its head. It gave out a sharp cry as it backs away from us.

And then, on the corner of my right eye, I could see Klein and his guild helping the injure of the Army. This gains the boss's attention, and looks like its not happy about it. Shifting my gaze even further to the right, there's Shino, already ready with her next arrow. She launched it, and the piercing projectile smashed into the Gleam Eyes' back in high speed, canceling its attacks. Everyone... They're down for this, huh?

Kirito ran over to the boss and begins to attack relentlessly with his Elucidator. he got some hits himself that made his health fall into the border between green and yellow. Asuna was also trying to attack the Minotaur from its back, but the Cobra tail isn't just for show too. Both of them were finally put back into the defense. This boss is just... Too much for us!

At this rate... We'll be... Damn it...! Wait... Is Kirito shooting me a look? Is... He signalling that... We probably won't have a chance if we don't use _it_? Those guys there... Klein's guild members... Klein... Asuna... Kirito... Shino. Damn it. This isn't the time to be stuck in a dilemma! Come on, brain, get yourself straight! These are people's lives we're talking about! Right... I gave a nod to him, and he nods back to me.

"EVERYONE!" Kirito called out. "I need you guys to keep him from my and Dash-san's back just for ten seconds!" He commanded, and some of the players present decides to comply. "Switch!" He backs away from the battle, and Asuna as well as Klein dashed forward to the enemy instead. "Dash-san! Now!"

"Right!" Both of us quickly opened our skill menu.

* * *

**Player Menu:**

**Settings**

**Map**

**Inventory**

**- Skills -**

**Other**

* * *

**Skills (Active):**

**- One Handed Greatsword: 903/1000**  
**- One Handed Longsword: 847/1000**  
**- Healing: 831/1000**  
**- Stamina: 356/1000**

_**- Cooking: 968/1000 [Replace?] [Y/N] -**_  
_**- [Y] -**_

**Replace with?**

**- Fishing**  
**- Shield**  
**- Stealth**  
**- Daggers**

_**- Long-Blades Dual-Wielding [Y/N] -  
**__**- [Y] -**_

**Skill Replaced**

**[Please Note that Sword Skills Will Also Change]**

* * *

I closed my menu, and Kirito proceeds to do the same. We nod at each other and ran forward to the boss. Klein and Asuna seems to be taking major damage from the boss. It's time... No time to be unsure... This is it!

"SWITCH!" Both Kirito and I yelled, gaining their attention. They nod and jumped away from the main chamber's floor.

Kirito was the first one to charge in. After a successful parry by Asuna and Klein, the black swordsman used this chance to dash forward with the enemy. Shino's support was right on time indeed. She launched two sharp and high speed arrows from her bow, exactly right to the Gleam Eyes' eyes, causing it to lose its vision. The Minotaur staggered as it lets out a sharp cry of pain. The blindness is only temporary... But!

It's enough for us... Kirito reached for his back and a soft cyan colored light began to glow brightly. The light materializes itself and it turned into the Dark Repulser, without wasting anymore second, the black swordsman pulled it out of its sheath with his left hand. Completely dual-wielding his swords, Kirito slashed the boss right at its chest, causing it to lose its balance. "Dash-san, Switch now!" He signaled.

"Got'cha!" I slide down between the boss's large legs and my left hand instinctively reached for the Blade of Nobody, sheathed at my left waist. The unique longsword detaches itself from the metal sheath and into my hands. I gave the Gleam Eyes my fullest force slash with both of Nameless and Nobody. I slashed its feet. Losing its balance, the Minotaur tumbled down to the earth. "Timber!" I yelled.

The monster crashed down to the rock floor, sending massive shockwave as well as a small earthquake to the boss's chamber. The floor itself cracked and we managed to push it down to its third bar's red zone. Two more bars, eh...? The boss was quick to recover, both its composure and its lost vision. Both of us quickly backed away from it. But this is just getting started.

"Your true adversaries... Are us!" I stated in an old Gothic style. "Come, demon spawn! We shall deliver you back to the gates of hell!" God, I feel like such a badass Space Marine from the Warhammer 40000 series.

As if responding to my taunt, the beast swung its sword down on Kirito, and its free left hand to me. Both of us blocked the attack by crossing our swords in a parrying position. This is a situation like when a 'nearly unstoppable' force meets a 'nearly immovable' object. I think the answer is obvious. More shockwave and small earthquakes. Shino, without any needed cue, launched more arrows to the boss, making it to lose its potential to press the attack even further.

Now's our chance!

Kirito held his one handed swords high. "**STARBURST... STREAM!**" Kirito declared the skill's name, and both of his sword began to glow in a bright cyan color. In high speed he he slashes the boss with all of his might. Horizontal... Vertical... Diagonal and X slashes as well as lunges were launched by the swordsman in a successful series of attacks. He continued to trade damage with the Minotaur. After the series of attacks, the boss managed to catch one of Kirito's swords, making the swordsman to lose his balance.

Gleam Eyes held out one of its fists high, ready to smash the stuck swordsman. Crap! His already yellow, nearly red health won't stand a chance against a blow that powerful...!

I have to... "Kirito-san!" I'm not going to take anymore loses. Klein trusted your safety to me, Kirito. What I didn't know that... This job is going to be such a drag... Seriously... You have to stop going all Johnny Rambo or something. I launched myself over to him.

**_Ugh!_**

The edges of my Heads Up Display reddens, and my vision started to glow gray. My health... It's hanging just at 4%. The in game alarm starts to blare loudly, warning me that I'm near death. I'm losing my senses. I can't actually breathe anymore. I could see everyone yelling and / or shouting at me but I can't actually hear them. All that's left is my already darkening vision from my HUD. I could see Asuna... Klein... Kirito with widened eyes, and shouting something at me. I couldn't hear anything besides muffled voices... And of course... I probably owe Shino another apology for this.

Is this... it? "**_No._**" Not yet... This 4% health... "**_It's enough!_**" I yelled, stabbing Nobody into the fist of the Minotaur. The boss backs away slight in pain, giving me one last opening to strike at it hard. "**_Kirito-san! Switch!_**" I yelled again, despite the fact that I couldn't even hear my own voice due to the Near Death thing I'm experiencing. I pushed the black swordsman to the sidelines and to the other players.

My eyes fell into the Gleam Eyes. Both of us are in the red zone of health bars. I held both of my blades high. One chance... I'm betting it all on this one! Either I buy the farm, or I'll get through this alive! As if wanting to make this a one epic showdown, me and the boss assumes a charging stance and activates our sword skill. Heh, now's the only chance for me to show the cool sword technique I learnt with Kirito on our secret dual-wielding training.

With one last... Empty breath from me, both of us charged at each other at high speed. And when it comes down to this, it's like, everything slows down, then I can see everything and everyone at once. My friends, Shino, desperately trying to catch up to me. Asuna holding a healing crystal, Kirito, trying to chase the Gleam eyes down with his blades, Klein still helping the other guild members.

_Is this Near Death Experience?_

Gleam Eyes swung its blade down at full speed. "**_NOW!_**" I yelled, swaying my body to the left, while pivoting my blades to the sides, I held my empty and hollow breaths in, and with this... It's over. "**Infinity Piercer.**" I declared softly, planting both of my now blue colored longswords in a crossed position, with all of the strength left inside my body, I used them all up to drag the swords and create a large sign of _Infinity_ on its lower chest.

I pulled my swords out and just a second later, Gleam Eyes exploded into nothing but crystal pieces. I could actually see myself smiling as the words 'Congratulations!' appeared on the boss's chamber for everyone to see. I could see those binary numbers again. Damn it, I don't need myself to go Internet Explorer... Oh what am I kidding. I'm going to die.

My knees trembled and they felt weak. Not enough power to support my body, I fell down to my back. My gray vision and health bar starting to fade into nothing. Just before everything went black, I could see my very first friend, and my partner, the archer, Shino Asada, running towards me. And then... All I could see is a black void.

Guys... Readers... I know I'm breaking the fourth wall here... But I just want to ask you guys something... Just before I die?

* * *

_Have you guys ever fallen in love before? _

_Because... I think... I..._

* * *

**Server Six : Passed ; ErROR ERroR _SysTEmM_ 0010010 ; Vit L Ssy5teMs Fadddi11n- ERROR**

* * *

**-Logging Into Safe Mode-**

**-Authenticating User-**

**-Log In Complete-**

**Dev's Log; Entry #06**

Hello again, everyone! It is I... Uh... Obi Wan Kenobi?

(By the way, it's still flooding here in my city. But I think you guys won't care anyway, huh? lol.)

And... Here's chapter six! Whew! This is the longest chapter I've ever written in FanFiction in like ever! And maybe... It could go even longer! This is the very first chapter to feature more than 9000 words in one chapter alone! You got that right! Now the only question that remains is... Vegeta! What does the scouter says about this chapter's words count?!

_It's Over 9000!_

_What, 9000?! There's no way that could be right!_

Ahem. But I digress.

By the way... We have reached over 1000 reads on this story! Wow! 1000 reads in less than a month! That's a new record! Thanks a bunch guys, you're all awesome! Also, thanks for a reviews, favorites and follows for this story :D

Right... Uh... Time to get dramatic. I hope you guys are not mad with this one. I just want to like... Extend the story to its further limits so this chapter finally comes to mind with all of the new character introductions, minimal humor, and new arsenals for the unnamed OC to use. Oh, and, we finally have some leaks on Shino's actual age.

In the Phantom Bullet Arc, she's actually still 16. So... She's practically younger than the official casts... But since this story is made before the info is released... I know, it's off. So sorry about it, guys ):

Anyhow and anyways... That's about it, lol. Just bring on the flames, guys. Cause this story sucks. -_-


	8. Reaper Rising

**WARNING: Lots of curse word in this chapter. This story is rated T for a good reason!**

* * *

_"Kirito-san, can you please tell me why are we doing this again?" I whined, not wanting to hone my dual wielding skills whatsoever. "I mean... I don't want to use it, even if someone actually puts the skill into our slots without anyone knowing it, it just proves me too dumb to dual wield." I continued, closing my player menu, and finally turning my face to him. "Besides... You'll know the reactions from the other players... Not all of us can dual wield in this game... Heck, I don't think anyone besides us can!" I shuddered. _

_Kirito shot me an annoyed look of his own. "I know... I probably won't use it too, but... You know this is just in case. Just think about it. Your firepower doubles if you wield two swords at once. And we'll get unique skills as well."_

_I only shook my head. "It doesn't give me any motivation to do so too. If your Repulser and Elucidator can, then I can't. I mean... The Nobody is NOT created for this particular reason. You know that right?" I raised my eyebrow. "I mean it's okay for you to use it, since you created the Repulser for that exact reason, but mine is one completely different story."_

_"I know... I know... It's just for emergencies. As I said before I probably won't use it either, but better safe than sorry, right?" Kirito replied to me. "And... Both of us needs a dueling partner to do so."_

_To be honest... I don't know..._

_Why do I have a bad feeling about this? No... More like..._

* * *

**Initializing System Reboot**

**. . . . .**

**User Authenticated**

**NerveGear System: Online**

* * *

Pitch. Black. Two words. Yep, that's it. I can't see anything anymore. Is this really death? My HUD is turned off. Huh. I wonder if I'll feel the pain when the NerveGear fries every brain cell inside my head. I wonder if I'll survive. Hmph, why am I even thinking about that matter? Even IF I survived the EMP blast, I'll probably be in a coma or something, or maybe enter a vegetative state for the worst. Eh, I'll die sooner or later in real life anyway, and I'll probably have no chance of surviving this one too, so...

Regrets? Of course I have some regrets. Being a sixteen year old foreigner and all has its own ups and downs in his life. Wish could've been more wiser on some case. Not that I don't like growing my mental age up, I just wished that it happened a bit more sooner. I still hope I could do something else in life. Or... At least, here at SAO. Wonder what my friends'll react to my death... My parents... The players present at the boss room... And... Well, of course, her...

This is really getting sappy, isn't it? Just thinking of those things... Now I wonder... About the question I asked you guys before. '_Have you guys ever fallen in love before?_'. Because... I don't know, really. Being a crappy guy and all... Tryin' to be special or something... Must be some kind of a joke. And an unfunny one, that is. Have I developed any feelings toward someone before? Yes. Once in elementary, but you know what an eight-year old love is, and you know how I'll probably have no chance of getting someone that'll be my... Partner.

I mean, come on. Am I a freaking joke? Or is the GM playing tricks on me? Ha ha... Very funny, GM, you still owe me some answers regarding the overpowered AIs, by the way.

But... To even get the feeling of love in here, IN A GAME, it's just ridiculous.

I should just... Shut the hell up and face my death. Come on, Reaper. My life is your to take-

* * *

The blackened HUD flickers. A light escaped from the seemingly endless void that I'm seeing. The next thing I feel is like a thousand freaking needles trying to pierce my body. I flinched in surprise of the sudden jolt of pain. The fact that I can feel pain is certainly not good. Not good at all. Am I actually experiencing my brain getting fried the hell up? Oh crap. If I knew that this was going to be THIS painful, I'd rather jump out of the bed and slap this NerveGear away from my head.

I forcefully open my eyes, To escape from the excruciating pain that's killing me (if I'm not actually dead yet). But, instead of seeing my own room, or a blinding light, which I could only assume as the afterlife, I see a dark stone ceiling. What? This isn't my room. Or... Even worse... Maybe I'm in hell. Holy crap. But wait... Those flame pedestals... They look like the ones from the boss room. But now, instead of blue, the flames are colored in a warming red-orange color... And they're emitting ACTUAL light, not like the creepy blue ones.

"E-eh...?" I asked that particular question out loud, yet my body is refusing to move. The next thing I saw when I turned my eyes is people. A group of people. One group has its members clad in a shining red, Sengoku-era armor with the Takeda Clan crest printed on multiple parts. Some on the chest parts, some on the joints, and it goes on. The other group has this same dull, gray armor, which resembles a knight's armor. I can't seems to see any insignia and / or symbol to identify this one particular group.

The next set of people I immediately see in front of me (Which I find a little weird, since I didn't really see them when I kinda 'regained' my consciousness back) ... A black-clad swordsman with a white-red strawberry-blonde haired girl beside him. And the most distant one... A raven haired... Bow wielding... Girl... And then, I can see a health bar blinking to life. MY health bar, filled up, full with HP. But... Wait... No way... That means... Am I really?

"What the fuc-" I never really get to finish my sentence. I didn't need to. My mouth was stopped, when my body was pulled upwards and it was quickly locked into an embrace. The extreme pain throughout my body intensifies, but it quickly dies down and instead replaced by this weird... Thing. Yeah... I can't really describe it. I'm a damn idiot when it comes to this. But it doesn't take me even five seconds to realize that Shino Asada, the raven haired girl is the one who's doing so.

My whole body froze up. And the pain numbed the whole body system. Even my breathing stopped. Flashes of light began to flicker in my HUD as more and more systems from the game came back on to life. Starting from names display, weapons, environmental display notes, minimap, time display, menu buttons, air commands and widgets, and the list goes on. It's almost like if the game is rebooting itself for me.

Speaking of name displays, I could finally confirm that the two groups before me are actually the Furinkazan and the other one is the Aincrad Liberation Army. Now, turning to the side, there's the black swordsman and a fellow soloer. Kirito, and his friend from the KoB Guild, Asuna, looking at me with a very concerned, yet relieved expression. Klein is over there, regrouping his own guild and giving the wounded from the Army some aid from their own. Healing potions and such... You know.

And finally her. This raven haired, mobius strip-using girl... Shino A.K.A Sinon, her in game username for SAO... I uh... What the hell should I do, really? As far as I know, she's crying. But she's doing it silently. I guess this is too much for her to handle. No sobs, no whimpers, no nothing. Just tears falling from from her raven eyes down to my clothes. I could only tell that she's crying because of those seeping tears. Heck, I think no one else noticed this.

With the numbness going off, and the HUD finally completely rebooted itself up, I could finally gain my senses back and move my body again. Wasting no more precious seconds, I just returned the embrace back to her. Damn it, she's gonna be really... REALLY pissed at me.

"It's alright." Was the next word that came out from my mouth. She didn't give any response.

But the next thing I noticed is her grip tightening, to almost choking me. "No, it's _NOT_ alright." She cuts me off, her tone somewhat angered. "What were you thinking?! Just dive into the whole mess just like that?! You could've died!" She half yelled at me, gaining some of the other player's attention to us.

Now I really choked. Not because of her strong grip, but because of her words. "Shino... I..." Damn it, am I really stumbling over my own words now? "I'm sorry... It's just that... I made a-"

"Don't continue." She commanded simply. "Whatever the reason is... I won't accept it..." Venom is still dripping from her voice, but at least it's better than before. "Just... Don't do that EVER again... No matter what."

"..." I was taken aback at this. "..." Unsure on what to say, I shot Kirito and Asuna one last look, but their expression're still the same from the last time.

* * *

**_"I'm sorry."_**

* * *

**Sword Art Online: Virtually Real**

**Logging Into Server Seven**

**Server Name: Reaper Rising**

**Log In Complete. Please enjoy the game**

* * *

Okay, now after all of those dramatics scenes have passed, I need to asses the situation. After staying at that somewhat uncomfortable position for more than five minutes, I finally pushed her away lightly. Silently respecting my attempts to break free, Shino silently moved away from me. Her face is still giving me that sad look, though. But the tears were already gone. For once, I actually felt guilty to her. And that counts as another apology count I need to give to her later...

"Kirito-san..." I spoke up, trying to get his attention from Asuna and back to me. "How long have I been out...?"

"A few seconds. The second you fell into the ground and loss your consciousness, Asuna here used her healing crystal to bring you back." He answered. "But... That was really a close call... A few more seconds late..." He trailed off, shuddering at the worst case scenario that could happen.

I went silent as well. "And... How bad...?"

But just about as the black swordsman is about to answer, Klein walks in. "That, I can answer." He replied to me, whilst shrugging. "Corvatz and two others from the Army didn't make it." The red haired samurai closed his eyes at the grim news.

"And we haven't loss anyone to a boss fight since floor 67..." Asuna was the next to comment about the matter at hand. "It's all my fault for not stopping them at the first place."

Klein raised his head. "Nah, this isn't your fault... Corvatz was a dumbass, tryn'a fight the boss all by himself... There's nothing good gained if you die here." But after that silence... His face... Oh no, why do I have a bad feeling about this? "Anyway... What the hell was that?! You guys pulled out two swords out of your sheaths!"

"Do we really have to say it...?" Kirito looked away from the group with his tone slightly heavy and pained just speak that up.

"Well, of course!" Klein demanded rather hastily. "I've never seen anything like that before!"

What? What are they talking about? I know that look from Klein can't signal anything good... But... Seriously... What the hell? "Uh... What?" I ask.

"Dual-wielding... It's an extra skill." Kirito answered quietly, making sure that only some of us could hear that.

Wait... What? "Huh? You mean... You guys DON'T actually have that skill?"

"Well, no! That's why we're askin' for it! Come on. What's the prerequisite?" The sengoku walks in closer to us, this situation is really getting close to an interrogation.

"If we'd knew, we would've shared it with you guys at the first place." Kirito said with that same annoyed tone.

Klein opened up the menu and into the glossary. "It isn't on the broker's list either... So that means, only the two of you have that skill... So, that makes it a unique skill!" He summed up. "Man, I can't believe you haven't told me that you had a skill like that."

Musing up to the thought. "No, no, please, do pray tell... None of you here has that skill? Like EXACTLY none of you?" I ask again, still shocked at the thought that no one else has this skill. Maybe... Their level is not high enough...? No. Asuna and Shino are high leveled like us... But then again, Asuna is a rapier user, while Shino is an archer. But Klein's level is pretty high too... Still, that idea was brought back into my mind.

Kirito himself also opened his skill menu, and highlight his dual wielding skill. "I was looking at my skill menu six months ago, and this skill is already there. The same goes with Dash-san right here." He pouts. "But... If people are to know that we had a skill like this..."

"MMO Players are one of those jealous types, huh?" Klein puts a hand up to his chin. "Well, I'm not the one to care for it... But lots of people will be envious about it... Well, sucks to be you guys, I guess..." He shrugged. "Well, just endure it... Suffering build character, young lads!"

"You could at least help a little..." The black swordsman facepalmed.

I stood up and summoned a small sword. "But really... Can't you guys dual-wield swords? I mean, you just have to hold it in the other hand like this... And voila!"

Klein watched me thoughtfully. "No can do, kid. Just try giving it to me..." He gestured his free hand and wave it at me. I walked in close and was about to hand the sword over to him, only to get a notification screen that reads _'Error: Player can't equip weapon'_. And that's not all. It doesn't state the reason why the person can't do that. "See?" The Sengoku tilted his mouth, making a near scowl.

Something is amiss here...

"Well, I'm just gonna go activate the warp gate. You guys wanna come?" Klein was already rounding up his guild. Wow. That was fast.

Kirito shot our own part a look. "I guess we'll pass. We're exhausted." He declined with a more relaxed tone than before.

"I see... Well, be careful on your way back, then." With that last farewell, the Furinkazan marches onto the 75th floor. Leaving both us, and the Army to sit here in silence. But the guild stopped just before they reached the stairs. "Hey, kid, Kirito..."

Both of us raised out heads at the hail.

"When you guys charged in to save those guys... I'm just..." He wiped his face and I could see one drop of a clear fluid leaving his eyes. "I'm just glad... Well... See you around." He waved at us without looking back.

There they go... I turned my face to the now silent archer that's standing a few meters away from me. She stared at me back for a couple of seconds before turning her head away from me. Ouch... Still giving me the cold shoulder, huh? Well... I guess I deserved it. Okay, not going to talk to her for a while... Now, to Kirito and Asuna, they seems to be arguing about something, something that also mentions both me and Shino's name.

Noticing my sudden non-existing press to enter the conversation, they turned their heads to me, both of them with an unreadable look on their faces.

"Uhm..." Asuna hummed a bit hesitantly. "I think it's about time I take some time of absence from the guild." She said with a matter-o-fact tone that caught both me an Shino out in surprise.

"Why? And what for?" Shino, after all of those minutes of silence finally opened her mouth again.

The KoB member exhaled loudly. "Did you two already forget about it? I said that I'd party up with you guys."

Ah... Right... Wait... What?

* * *

"A blue demon that annihilated a large portion of the Aincrad Liberation Army squad took a fifty hit combo from two dual blade wielders and the two annihilated the boss singlehandedly." Egil reads the news article out loud, before letting a chuckle escape from his mouth. "Damn... They're really making a big deal out of this thing." He held his bald head with his free hand as he struggles to suppress his chuckle down, but a full blown laughter is what we get from him instead.

October 19th, 2024. Back at Egil's shop. It's the only place that we can find peace. The reason is...

"None of that actually happened." Kirito said lazily, with his head rested on his hands. "Because of that, so many swordsmen and info brokers came to our place, we can't stay at one place for more than five minutes without getting into more and more trouble."

What Kirito said. Yeah, that's what exactly happened.

"Ditto..." My voice came out muffled, as I said that with my face hitting the soft sheets of Egil's pillow. Yes. I landed face first on his bed.

"Oh, stop whining, coach. I mean, you guys do know that it's your fault to begin with, right?" Yes, yes, Lisbeth, berate me more further with your usual endless stream of tease... "You said that it was just our secret, but you two HAD to use it, letting everyone in for the info." Even I'm not looking at her right now, I could tell that she's grinning brightly and mischievously at our miserable state. I could read her like a book.

"But it doesn't look like they have any other choice at that time, Lisbeth-san." Shino... You should really know that I'm GRATEFUL for that support. My already poor mental state doesn't like that tease... Not at all... You know, I really like her already mature personality. Even though she's still being kinda cold to me, she's actually understanding our situation.

I simply waved a hand with a thumbs up into the air without lifting my head from the pillow.

But then, someone had to get the whole store's attention. Loud and rapid footsteps are heard from the outside, and it quickly barged into Egil's living quarters, our supposed location... Oh crap, don't tell me it's another player or info brokers. I really don't need any of this crap right now...

"Kirito-kun, NoName-kun!" Wait... But that voice...! I shot my head up to the door, to find Asuna in a slightly panicked state. "We have a problem! A big one!"

Oh for the love of...

* * *

Floor 55, Grandzam, the same day as today. We've been called into the GHQ of the Knights of the Blood Oaths. Asuna was only merely acting as a messenger to call us there. Grandzam looks... Well, grand, true to its name, really. It serves as the main HQ for the KoB guild. It's big, gigantic, and... It's colored in red. I've heard of this place before, I mean, duh, who doesn't? Every player of SAO knows KoB and their HQ. The 'Zam' part is pretty weird, though... I mean, who the hell would name such a badass looking castle 'ZAM'...? Of course, that someone will not be me.

Okay, so our party, Kirito, Asuna, Shino, and myself is standing at the guild's main meeting room. Me and Shino almost got kicked out cause... You know, people weren't expecting two more weight to come with them... Eh, nothing a little Star Wars '_These aren't the droids you're looking for._' couldn't work. And yes, I just said that in English, not Japanese, in British English, no less. I'm pretty sure that the guard just went too confused to even understand what I said back then and just let us in. Perks of being a geek... Ehehe... Uh... Ahem.

So, back to topic. Grandzam. As the place's description suggests, it's clad in white and red color, with the banner of the KoB guild flying high on nearly all high points of the castle's fort areas. The inside was also furnished in an elegant way. Old centuries' furnishing, giving this very classic feel to it. Red carpets all the way from the entrance to the main halls, stairs everywhere, literally everywhere, long and confusing hallways... We would've not made it to the meeting room if it wasn't for Asuna right here...

Now, I don't really pay attention to the other cannon fodders that're sitting on the side chairs inside the room. What got my attention is THIS guy... Seems to be middle aged, long gray hair, tied to one short, yet neat ponytail, a pair of wise, cunning, and tricky silver to near gray eyes. A very stock, serious look on his face. He's wearing an all red attire, making him different from the other guys. I'd say... This is the guy. The main leader of the guild. What's his name...?

"I think, outside of boss fights, we've never met... Kirito-kun... And... Nameless-kun..." He spoke with a gracious and elegant tone. Huh, must be feeling high (not high as in drugs), or something.

Kirito shook his head, rejecting the thought and supporting the guild leader's statement. "No, we haven't." He said back to him with a respectful tone. "We've met during a conference at the 67th floor, but outside of that... No... Guild Commander Heathcliff." That's it! Heathcliff! Yeah, that's his username.

"I heard that the battle was difficult... We almost lost members as well... But now... I also heard that now... You're taking one of our most important players." His eyes narrowed slightly as he said that.

I scoffed. "Yeah, you can say that again to that... One kind of a bodyguard you have." I answered him a bit sarcastically, so much trying to be a formal person on the first impression... Ugh...

"I apologize for any troubles that you had with Kuradeel..." He said that so casually, his tone is even still relaxed, despite the rather heavy atmosphere surrounding us. "But... We still can't allow the Vice-commander to leave the ranks of our guild." But before we could protest, or react, he pressed on. "Kirito-kun... This was your plan, was it not?" He completely ignored my glance and his eyes fully focused on the black swordsman. "I'll take your silence as a yes... Well... Then let me propose something. If you want to take her with you, you shall use your swords... Your TWO swords. If you can defeat me in a fair combat, then you may take Asuna-kun with you."

Kirito didn't give him an answer back immediately. "But what's in it for you?"

"If you lose... You will join the Knight of the Blood Oath." Heathcliff... This guy's different... I can actually feel it. He's smart... REALLY REALLY smart...

Kirito... Don't... "Very well." DAMN IT. "If you'd rather settle the score with our swords, then let it be. I accept your challenge as well as your request for a duel." His tone is dead serious.

"Well then... Tomorrow, at mid day, Floor 75 at the town of Collinia. Is that acceptable...?"

"Very."

"Good... Good... Well then... Kirito-kun... And... Nameless-kun..." He stared at me... Almost glaring. I could feel the last bit of my self-confidence diminishing into nothing. "I'd say... I'll see you later..." That was more a statement rather than a farewell wish... And that last part... I knew that one is directed directly at me... But... Why, and what for?

I simply nod. Too dazed at his comment, and maybe too scared to say anything out.

* * *

Fast forwarding two days... Going back into the future- Ahem... Nevermind that old film... I don't have the DeLorean with me here, and I can't drive... Let alone going 88 miles per hour to travel back to the future- Ahem... I should REALLY stop talking about that film Okay, October 22nd, 2024. Two days past that fated duel between Heathcliff and Kirito. Haven't heard of him since. I'm just walking to Egil's shop with Shino, trying to find ourselves some peace from the all still raging info brokers, trying to get some intel regarding our skill... (Not that I'll use that thing again, though...)

And yeah, if you're wondering, me and Shino didn't watch the battle between the two. Seats were completely full. When we entered the front door, it's still quiet. Looks like the owner's out, finding off some supplies... No clanking sounds too... Lisbeth's probably back at her house down at floor 47. Well, Egil himself said that we can enter his shop whenever and use his room as we wish. Yeah... For a guy at his size, he's really kind to us. Heh... Makes me wonder if-

"H-hey... Didn't I request something that wasn't too flashy?" Came a male voice that entered our ears. Oh, and how can I hear this? My hearing level's pretty high. So I can listen through player's chatters if the door is not locked, only closed. But if it's locked, you'll need to do better than this level I achieved.

Picking up the sudden voice, both me and the archer jolts in surprise, I almost pulled my sword out in an alarmed state, but Shino stopped me from doing so. Hey, maybe she's right, the voice does sounds like Kirito. Shrugging her earlier regards of resorting to violence in Egil's house, I relent, dismissing the great sword in my right hand.

Then, we can hear Asuna giggling inside the room. "Heh, believe me or not... It's one of the more non-flashy ones. And besides, our uniform looks great on you." she complimented. Wait... Their uniform... On him? So that means... Kirito lost to Heathcliff?

A soft thud, looks like Kirito is plopping himself to Egil's bed. "So... A guild, huh?" He said that with a tired voice, almost inaudible from the front.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to drag you into all of this..." Asuna quickly apologized.

"No, no... It's a good chance for me... I was reaching the limits of what a solo player can do... And trust me... Without you and the others, I wouldn't even be alive right now." Kirito replied with the same tired tone as before. "Maybe it's just new for me, that's all."

A moment of silence. "Well, that does make me feel a little bit better, but..." She trailed off, possibly not wanting to press on with the issue. "Hey, Kirito-kun... I want you to be honest with me."

Well, that stopped me from reaching the door handle. I took some steps back in silence and puts finger up to my lips, giving a signal for the archer beside me to keep the silence between us the way it is. I think those two needs to talk, better leave them be for now. She nods, and both of us waited at the house's hallways in silence. With Shino just standing idly there on the far end of the counter, and me crossing my arms with my back leaned against the wall. Respecting privacy and such... Huh, so this is what they call 'Growing Up', huh? It's not so bad once you got the hang of it, I tell you.

"I want you to tell me why are you avoiding guilds, Kirito-kun." Asuna spoke again, her voice seems to be seriously pensive. "...And other people besides us, if that's the case..." Silence. "It isn't just because you're a beta tester or just because you have a unique skill, right? I mean, you're a really nice person, Kirito-kun."

More silence... Is Kirito being reluctant to share his own part of the story? "It was a long time ago... Over a year ago..." Right before we met on the frontlines, huh? "I did join a guild... But just for that one time. The guild itself was tiny. Only five other members in it. It's name... The Moonlit Black Cats." He paused a few seconds. "To be honest, their levels were far lower than mine. So I think if I'd told them my true level at that time, they would've reconsidered the idea." Ah... The feeling of getting left out when people knows your little secret, huh? I understand that. Truly I do.

I put a hand up to my mouth, holding my breath in just to hear the words out.

"But in the end, I hid it, and I joined their guild. They were all so comfortable being together like that, like a closely knit family. It's really a something that I coveted at that time. But one day..." I suddenly feel the coldness in his voice. The sudden change of his tone made me tense up. "We were just investigating a dungeon... But it was a trap... Everyone, every member of the guild... Died." I choked, with my heterochormic eyes blinking rapidly. "I was the one who killed them."

My knees suddenly went weak. They're trembling, like unable to support my body's weight, yet at the same time, they stoned themselves so I would not crumble down to the floor.

"You heard me... I was the one who killed them... Had I not hidden the fact that I was a soloer at the first place... I could've warned them how dangerous the trap was... Yet... All of them... Sachi... I killed them all." He said that with a completely straight tone, but I could still hear his voice slightly wavering.

That... All of that... I couldn't take it anymore. My stoned knees broke down, and I was crushed under my own weight. I silently slid myself down to the floor, with my back still leaned against the wall. My face was buried in my hands. That was so surreal... So sad, that it's actually ... Getting funny? Haha... Such a cruel twist of fate... Ha... Hahaha... Goddammit all...

I could feel the slight vibration on the floor... Is someone... Walking towards me...? I let my hands go from my head, and my slightly hazy vision cleared themselves up. Shino Asada was kneeling beside me, a concerned look on her face. She pointed at my eyes. Huh? What's wrong with my eyes? I slid my goggles upwards and rubbed my eyes... What? What are these clear fluids? Are these... Actual tears? MY tears? Then... Am I... Am I really...? Haha... For a guy like me to actually do this...

I rubbed my eyes quickly and just tilted my lips upwards to give her a tiny but sad smile. I raised a hand to keep her from asking any questions.

"I'm not going to die..." Asuna finally reacts to all of that story. "Because I'm the one who will protect you."

The one who will protect, huh? I guess that explains it all... I slowly stood up from my sitting position. Give Shino a look that says we have to leave them be for now. Those two are going to have their love-dovey thingy huh? Welp... We're practically the uninvited guests here, so... I grabbed her by the hand and made my way for the front entrance of the shop. When we got back out, there was no one to greet us. No players, no info brokers, nothing. Whew, peace and quiet at last, I suppose.

"What was that about, Nameless?" She asked me. "And why were you crying back then?"

I stopped, sighed, and stared to the skies. "Me? Oh, nothing... I just remembered something sad..."

"Was it about Kirito-san and Asuna-san back in the shop?"

I chuckled. "Nah... It was just something else..." I lied. "But that certain something opened my eyes, really..." I smiled to no one.

She tilts her head. "Opened your eyes? What do you mean?" Now, before I could answer her back, or lie again... If that's the case... She reacts swiftly this time. "You're not supposed to keep secrets from a friend, you know." She spoke with a more quieter tone than before. "If you have any problems... Just... Tell me about it. I'll be willing to listen."

As far as I'm concerned, I'm still holding her hand. But her last sentence made it even harder for me to let her small hand go. So I only did the opposite. My hand firms themselves on hers, tightening the grip instead.

"You first." I teased. "You always look like an emo from time to time." I smiled jokingly, all in good humor.

"No, you first."

"No, you."

"You."

Oh, here we go again... Let the argument duel commence.

...

But all things aside... Yeah... I'll be the one who protects... **_Her_**. Thanks, Asuna.

* * *

The next day, we're still chilling over at Egil's... It's nearing noon, and nothing interesting happened. Not brokers trying to stalk me, Kirito and Asuna didn't came to visit this morning. Probably too busy with all of those Guild stuffs we'll never understand. Lisbeth came in a few hours ago, but only to drop some of her weapons and then she left back to her own house back at the 47th. Egil himself was as usual, busy handling with the customers over at the front counter, so we get to use his bedroom. I'm lying on the bed, while Shino just sits there on the chair.

Nothing interesting is happening-

Oh, what's this? A chat invite from Asuna? I stared at the blinking notification for a couple of seconds before finally shrugging it off and opened it anyway.

* * *

_Asuna: NoName-kun, Sinon, sorry for bugging you guys. But can you meet me on the West entrance on Grandzam? I'll explain everything to you guys later, I promise._

_Sinon: Of course, Asuna-san._

_-: Sure, be right there._

_Asuna: Thanks, you two. :)_

* * *

So... Shino got it too, huh? We closed our chat screens and exchanged glances between each other blankly. After a few seconds or so, we stood up and nod to each other, summoning a teleportation crystal into our hands at the process. We said our goodbyes to the bald shopkeeper and teleported to the 55th floor without wasting anymore time.

After that inconvenient landing on that small building filled with hay over there, we decided to fasten out pace to the KoB's GHQ. Who knows what's happening when we're not there. When we arrived at the west entrance of the castle of Grandzam, we saw the guild's vice commander standing there, with her hands on her hips, and her right foot tapping lightly on the stone roads of the guild's castle. I suppose it's about time to make our presence known to her, so we waved to her and jogged there.

Up close, Asuna's expression wasn't as pleased as we're expecting. "Ah, NoName-kun, Sinon, you here!" But her usual cheerfulness remains, much to our own comfort.

I stabilized my breathing, as my poor stamina finally recharged themselves. "So, what's up?"

"Oh, right. Sorry again for calling both of you up here, anyway. Okay, so... Here's the situation... One of the Guild's force commanders, Godfrey, is going with Kirito and Kuradeel, he said that it's for assessing his combat skills in extreme situations, so no crystals allowed. I know that the Level 55 dungeon is probably no problem for them... But..." She explained.

Shino looks genuinely surprised. "Kuradeel? That man who's supposed to be your bodyguard? Aren't they on unfriendly terms? And they can't use any crystals?"

"Yeah... So that's why..." Asuna turned her face to us. "If it's no trouble for you two, could you guys accompany me to the dungeon too? We won't be actively doing combat, only if the situation goes bad."

I raised a hand. "Wait, but how about your duties as KoB vice commander?"

"I ditched work and sneaked out." She shrugged. "Why?"

"Ah, that explains it." I slapped my forehead. "But it's no problem, really."

She gave that usual smile to us. "Ah, thanks, both of you. Oh and don't worry, since you two are under my command, crystals're all green to me."

"Under your command?" Both me and the archer tilts our head at her last part.

A few minutes later, we're already walking down to the entrance of the dungeon's entrance. Huh... I feel like an Inception joke coming up. The entrance of the dungeon is a relatively wide canyon that expands far to the horizons. And the entrance to that canyon is this wide open, barren field of land. The wind is plowing through my face. The sun is kinda blazing, despite the fact that it's only a game we're playing. But still, GM, you never fail to impress me. Now, talking about this dungeon's entrance's entrance, I think it's supposed to be-

"Wait." Shino held one of her arms, stopping us. She pulls her bow from her back and crouched. "I can see someone on the canyon's entrance." Wow, nice sights.

Just as she made that comment, I flipped the Nameless out from my arm and joins her with a readied stance. Both of us are quickly followed by Asuna. "Whoever's hiding by the canyon's shadows, come out now!" I barked from the distance, making sure that my voice reaches the canyon's walls so it would echo, though.

After my command, a hooded figure walks out from the shadows to greet us in the field. His whole attire was composed of one tattered piece of large black cloth, from feet to the head. I could still see that black trousers underneath the cloth... Chains... Chains on his left hand, a huge cleaver on the other. The Player ID signaled him as a red player... Player Killers... Oh crap. Not good. Not good at all... Wait... Speaking of PK... PK... Right! Laughing Coffin! That PK guild... Why's a member here? Where are the others?

Speaking of Laughing Coffin... Those guys have killed more than a hundred clearers, and even more low leveled guys, in cold blood.

He stopped a few meters away from us, brandishing his cleaver. "Quite a sharp eye you have there, missy... Spotting me in the shadows from that distance, no less." He mock-complimented.

"PK Guild, Laughing Coffin... Why are you here?" I questioned, the Nameless brandished and ready.

"Why am I here?" He pointed at himself. "I'm simply helping a member from my own guild to get his target..." He smiled... Not in a good way.

"A member of your guild? But who would do so?" Shino was the next to ask. "And why are you helping him?"

He snorted. "Why? Well, guild members are supposed to help each other out, right...?"

"Wait... But inside the canyon... There's only Kirito, Godfrey, and Kuradeel." Asuna thought out loud. "It's obviously not Kirito. Godfrey would never do something like that, he's a decent man..." She paused, before giving out a look of horror for all of us to see. "Kuradeel!"

His grin widened. "Ding-a-ring! Correct answer, miss Knights of Blood!" He clicked his fingers. "I know about your plans... Tryn'a make sure that everything's alright... Huh, sorry to say... I'm not going to let you do that..." He swiped his cloak-cloth to flow with the air. "I am PoH! The leader of Laughing Coffin, and I'll make sure that I'll have some entertainment watching all of you suffer!" He declared, swinging his long chain at us.

We jumped back in surprise, the chain almost slamming my head because of my slow response. He retracts the chain and began to laugh maniacally. He's not going to be easy... We can't afford to pull back if Kuradeel's is still in there... This guys right here... So he's the boss of the whole, huh? His level is pretty high too. At least on par with me... A level 85+ that could also do some serious damage with that weapon of his.

I've never seen a cleaver and a chain being used as a weapon before here at SAO... Must be something special reserved for him and only him, then.

"Asuna-san, Shino, listen." I said with my focus still attached to PoH. "Here's the plan, he may be high-leveled, but Kuradeel isn't. Just in case, Asuna-san, we'll distract this guy, and capture him, if possible. You should go to where Kirito-san is your agility is the highest between the three of us, so you can reach his location quickly. Bring a healing as well as an antidote crystal too. I have a bad feeling about this." I bit my lower lip as I said that.

The KoB's vice commander agrees with my one-second made tactics. "Alright..." She pulled out her rapier.

"On the count of three... Shino, you'll give her some covering fire while I'll try to engage him up close."

"Right... Ready." Shino summons an arrow into her hands as she replied me.

"One... Two... THREE!" I pushed Asuna on her back, boosting her forward to the side, while I rushed forward. "RUN, ASUNA-SAN! RUN!" I yelled, charging head on to PoH with the Nameless's After Image skill active.

PoH's grin didn't disappear from his face. "Oh, running already...? You're no fun... Come on! Play with me! Be my bitch!" He also ran towards Asuna... Crap, he know's what we're planning, huh? Then... Taste my elbow, you damn PK! I bashed him down, making him falter, but his HP didn't decrease even by a tiny bit. Damn it. He's as high leveled as I thought he would be.

"Your opponent is me, PoH." I pointed my oversized sword at him. "Now, En Garde!"

What is he? His demonic smile didn't even falter the slightest, even when I hit him. "So... You're the opening act... Whatever... I'll just play with you first, then!" He swung his large chain over to me. This time, I was ready. I ducked under the chains and dashed forward with the Nameless ready. He retracts his chain and swings it again. Repeat until you can get close then. His accuracy of hitting me is lowered with Shino providing suppressing fire from the distance. She doesn't hit him on purpose, since she knows that I'm aiming to take him down rather than kill him.

His fighting style is hard, harsh, focuses mainly on dealing tons of pain to the other opponent. But he's not attacking with any tactics... In terms of strategy and numbers... We've already won this battle. Now that my distance is closing, I just have to watch for that large cleaver he's holding in his hand. I swing horizontally right at his feet, but instead of his legs, my sword meets only thin air. He... He just vanished.

I couldn't even react in surprise when I felt this sudden weight on my neck's back. The next second, it's gone. I look backwards, to find PoH, already running to where Shino is. Such agility... He's as fast as Asuna. Damn it, at this rate, I can't keep up with him. It's up to Shino alone to take care of him. I proceed to give chase. But of course, he was much more faster than I am. Shino, on the other hand, was already aiming at him.

"Shino!" I yelled. "Aim for the legs! Disable him!"

She launched the first set of arrows, missed, second wave... Missed, third time's the charm... Also a miss. Damn it, even with Shino's nearly perfect accuracy, he could still easily dodge all of those arrows with little, heck, maybe even no effort at all...! PoH moved his hands a little and kept on running. I wonder what the hell he's doing. Whatever it is, if it's planned by the guild leader of a murderer's club, it can't be good. Not at all.

And, all of a sudden... Shino suddenly stopped firing arrows. She froze.

"Shino?! Why'd you stop?!" I yelled, still giving chase to PoH. She fell down afterwards. "SHINO!" I fastened my legs' draps on the ground... But wait... When I checked her health screen, it's still green... So what the hell is...

"Nameless, s-stay back!" She yelled back at me. "H-He has a poison-"

Gah?! Wh-what the hell?! I... I can't move! My legs, they went numb, and I fell down, sliding on the dirt ground and my body finally stopped sliding just a few feet away from the archer and the murderer. Why... Why can't I move?! My body is not responding to me. Even if I forced my body to move, all it did was only twitching back and forth. No response to my command to move whatsoever. What the hell...?! I checked my own health bar to see it's now bordered with a yellow line with a warning sign on the side...

"P-Paralyzing poison..." Even my mouth is refusing to move. This poison is a particularly strong one... I can see a needle stuck on Shino's neck, and when I lowered my glance, I could see a needle on my left leg. Damn it, so that's why... He was actually throwing some poison needles at us, that's why we couldn't feel a thing because these needles were so small. This guy is a genius... To bad he's a murderer too.

"Clever one..." He laughed. "Now... Which one to play... Who'll be the first one to kill...?" He asked to no one, before his head landing on top of the archer.

"D-Don't... Hurt... Her!" I barked.

His smile turned even even even more wider and brighter. "Oh... She's the one, eh? A friend of yours? Your girlfriend, perhaps? Okay, so now we got two birds with one stone... I get to kill this girl first, while YOU get to see her suffer!"

Shino already had this look of horror on her face. "N-Nameless... Help...?"

I forced my body to move forward, but in this prone position, I could only drag myself in the dirt. "Stop... Don't... Do it!" That was practically begging.

PoH raised his cleaver. "You see this baby? This girl could cut down literally everything. Any defense buffs and armor stats won't work on her. It also negates any healing regeneration... It also deals twice the damage... If it's struck on the right places..." He licked his own weapon, much to my own disgust. "Get hit by one of these sexy things... You can kiss your life..." He blew a kiss with his other free hand, like one of those in the old movies. "Adios..."

"Why the hell are you doing this?!" Come on, poison... Wear off already... "And why's Kuradeel working with you?!"

"Why, you ask? Can't you feel the enjoyment, the excitement, when you get to watch someone dies... Especially when the guy is front of you?!" Okay, this guy is mentally unstable. "The rush... It makes my blood boils... It's pleasuring..." He explained. "And that... Kuradeel... He joined my guild some time ago... Poor thing has been wanting to kill someone... So I helped him... Made him a few Paralyzing poisons... And he's set to go..."

I need to stall him a bit longer, somehow... "But you're robbing people of their lives! That doesn't explain anything!"

"Oh yes, yes it does... It explains EVERYTHING, in fact..." He laughed again, longer this time. Good... Just keep laughing... This poison should wear off soon... "But enough chit-chat... Or else the poison's gonna wear off..." He readies his cleaver over the archer.

"You're... Not going to get away with this... You know that?!" Good, Shino, just keep stalling him too!

"Oh, I've done this since this damned game is fucked up by that damn Kayaba Akihiko... And I always get away with it... Now... Look around you! There's no one to help... No witnesses... And once I'm done with you two, I'll head in to the canyon and finish the job... If little Kuradeel himself couldn't do it... Heh... You two just met your executioner...!"

He's a damn psycho...

"So... SIT BACK... AND ENJOY THE PAIN!" Oh crap... NO! Come on... Wear off already...

"AH!" Wear Off!

**WEAR OFF!** "**_DON'T DO IT!_**" I forcefully launched myself forward.

* * *

I stared at my now red health bar, with only a tiny bit of HP left on it. On the right hand side of the screen, I could see a red light blinking. Digital bloods are flying all over the place. And... I couldn't feel my left hand anymore. Time seems to be slowing down... I can catch the whole scene perfectly with my heterochromic eyes. My left hand is floating in the air, it was completely cut off. It then turned into nothing but particles.

Behind me, there's Shino, with the poison still taking over her body. A complete look of horror stuck on her face. Her raven eyes widened significantly. In front of me, PoH, a slightly surprised look is seen on his face, but his demonic grin is still present there. His cleaver struck through my left palm, pierces it down, and cuts my whole left arm up. If you guys haven't noticed it already... Yeah... I just became a meat shield.

_Why am I even doing this? I could've just let her die._

No... What am I even thinking?  
_It all hurts so right...  
_I made a promise... To myself...  
_This guy will fucking die...  
_I WILL be the one who protects Shino Asada!  
_FUCK THIS GUY!_

I... I'm in love with her...  
_Who am I fucking kidding..._

It all made sense now... I'm just another player with mental problems and split personality... _Isn't that right... Me?!_

I grinned at the image of my now non-existing left hand, and launched a hard blow with my right hand, right on PoH's face. The impact was so hard, he was launched back, and his cleaver was dropped. He flew about 50 meters to the back. And my right hand is slighlty stinging... I shrugged it off, and I realized that my health is going all critical. My sword's dismissed... Am I fighting him in fists, now? Well, in fist, cause... you know... Left arm...

Oh look... My player icon turns into orange... Huh... I need to apologize to Shino later...

_BUT WHO FUCKING CARES, RIGHT?! I'M GONNA TEAR THIS GUY INTO NOTHING BUT PIECES ANYWAY!_

I charged forward and pinned PoH to the ground with my leg. I stomped on his face as hard as I could. A completely not sane grin is coloring my face, as I continue to jab a leg down his throat. It all... _FEELS SO FUCKING RIGHT... THIS SHIT... ALL OF THIS CRAP OF KILLING SOMEONE... IT'S SO FUCKING DELICIOUS! MORE... MORE...! MORE! MORE PAIN!_

"**_Hey, there, PoH!_**" I greeted, smacking a fist down his mouth before he could even reply. "**_What's up?! Cat got your tongue?!_**" I punched him again. "**_OH WAIT, NO... I GOT YOUR TONGUE! AND I'LL SHOVE IT UP YOUR FUCKING ASS A THOUSAND TIMES IF I NEED TO!_**" I laugh... I laugh... _THIS IS SO FUNNY! ahahahahHAHAHA HA HA AHA! THIS IS SO FUNNY THAT TEARS ARE STREAMING DOWN FROM MY FACE! _I'm... I'm crying...? How pathetic...

His health bar dropping to red zone and I quickly shoved a healing potion down his throat.

"**_I'M NOT DONE YET, BITCH. I CAN GO MUCH WORSE THAN THIS..._**" I mocked, forcing the healing liquid to recover his HP. "**_YOU SAID THAT YOU WERE THE EXECUTIONER?! CUT THE BULLSHIT._**" I yelled at his face. "**_I'LL SHOW YOU THE TRUE DEFINITION OF PAIN._**" I punched... punched... punched... "**_YOU JUST MADE THE DEAL WITH THE REAPER... NO, WAIT... YOUR REAPER... YOU FILTHY WHORE... _**"

I snapped the Nameless in half with my leg (yes, I just did that.) And used the still sharp shards to tear his cloth off. I used my right hand to force the black cloth over my amputated left arm, covering it completely. My different colored eyes... No... rather, my red colored eye is shining brightly, despite the fact that it's still broad daylight. This is... The split personality, huh? Just like Allelujah Haptim from Gundam 00, I suppose.

It isn't that bad... But I do wonder what Shino has to say about this... I can't face her anymore after she saw me like this... I'm so pathetic...

_BUT THEN AGAIN, WHO MOTHERFUCKING CARES... I'LL JUST KILL THIS GUY OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN... TILL I'M SATISFIED._

Yeah... They just saw a Reaper Rising...

* * *

**WARNING - Mental Damage Detected - WARNING**

**Server Seven Complete ; Authenticating players to the next server . . .**

* * *

**Dev's Log:**

Exia Repair I. Look it up on Google if you're wondering how nameless looks in the last section of this chapter.

I'm expecting more unfollowers and unfavorites, just for the battle scene alone.

Sorry... School seems to be taking the toll on me... But yeah. Go flame this story. This story sucks... Just... Go, unfollow this story, and live your lives in peace...


	9. Our Revelation, Their Confession

Split Personality... A.K.A Dissociative Identity Disorder OR Multiple Personality Disorder. This is a very very VERY rare mental disorder that's characterized with two distinctly different personalities, each with its own unique style of mental and psychology. Yeah. I have that kind of problem inside this small, nearly fried brain of mine. Wikipedia said that this disorder is to only strike 1 of the 3% of the world's population. But I'm somehow included in them.

Two distinct personalities... If you don't mind lining that down. Now... I'm sure you've heard of those... 'Inner, deadly you' type of stories over at fanfiction, right? Well... This is kiiinnnndddaaaa like one of those, but a bit different. Now, the normal thing is, I'm supposed to experience memory loss and disorientation overtime, but I'm not. So... I'm pretty much conscious when I'm experiencing weird ass things such as these...

"**_...I GOT YOUR TONGUE, AND I'LL SHOVE IT UP YOUR FUCKING ASS A THOUSAND TIMES IF I NEED TO...!_**"

Uh huh, I'm actually conscious. I have poor mental problems since I was... What, 9 years old? Since my dad died. I'm usually like a scaredy cat, quote-unquote 'friendly', and 'calm', but once I'm starting to experience mental breakdown, I'll be cursing out... A LOT more. Not just that, I'll become destructive, psychotic, volatile, and violent. Pretty weird, huh? I also didn't know why I had this disease or rather... Disorder at the first place, but you guys, the reader, have seen me during my darker times, right?

"**_Later, n00bs._**"

That's one example. The NerveGear that's stuck on our heads projects our personalities in this virtual reality. I'm not sure if that thing could handle my unstable brainwaves, though. My darker sides... I usually called it... Monster. True to its name, it IS a monster. I can't really comprehend its destructive side. The most horrifying thing is... I'm still conscious when I did all of those things. So it's still me... Only with a few more spices that's added.

"**_Listen, bitch... I'm sick of your bullshit._**"

That's one of the other example of my many breakdowns during this game. The doctors over at the hospitals always said that this mental disorder in incurable, no matter how hard they and I tried. The only thing and the final thing I could only do to save my little mind is to keep my personalities in check. That's why I'm mostly using the more 'normal' part of me when I'm interacting with people. That still didn't stop people and students alike to grow a bit of a distance from me. I couldn't blame them, really.

* * *

**Sword Art Online: Virtually Real, Chapter 8**

* * *

Heh, what a mess, what a load of crap my mind is, really... No matter how hard I tried, they said. Now that I think of it, I'm just starting the first stages of recovery WHEN the GM had to start trapping players inside the SAO's server. I wonder if that caused my mental disorder to worsen. Meeting people here, Kirito, Asuna, Shino, and the others, making friends and such... And then I thought I was really recovering from this damned disease...

How pathetic of me, right?

And... Worst of all... I may not even be a real human... At least, in this game...

* * *

**Our Tragic Revelations, Their Sweet Confessions**

* * *

My balled hand just kept on punching the leader of the Laughing Coffin, or should I say, PoH. _That asshole fucking deserves it._ I punched so many times that I lost count on how many strikes I've struck on his face. _Wait... I forgot... I still haven't pulled his tongue out and shove it into his ass, pull it out, and shove it again till he breaks... Hahahaha... Yeah... That sounds... Awesome..._ His face is like a pile of a mess. Just a bunch of numbers and particles, I can't really make his face out anymore.

I summoned a bottle of healing potion to my hands and just poured its contents down the holographic hole that's supposed to be his... Mouth, I suppose._ I already said that I'll kill this guy over and over and over and over again 'till I'm satisfied, right? Well... Guess what...? I think this is nothing... This guy just met his Hitler_. His health bar slowly recovering back to yellow, and with a sadistic and not really sane smile up on my lips, I punched him again. Hard. So hard that the ground below his face cracked. _Heh... This is... Fucking satisfying. All of it... This is..._

God... Look at his... Face. It can't even be called a 'face' now. It's just an animated hexagon piece of... Piece... Piece- P-p-p-p-p-_PIECE OF SHIT_. _T-th-th-that's right...! ISN'T IT?!_ Why am I get_T_i_N_g _S_o wo_RKE_d up _AB_ou_T_ _THI_s th_ING_? I'm literally doing a crime here... _AT A GAME... WHY SHOULD I CARE?! It's not like there'll be any witnesses... Just as he said... If there's one anyway... I'll... I'll kill them... I'll kill them all... No matter who they are..._ God dammit, what the hell is wrong with my head?!

For once, I actually stopped punching him. My breaths were all trembling, but the dark smile is still coloring my face with a demonic style. My red eyes streaming down clear fluids, which I called tears. God... Just look at his face. I can't even call that thing a 'face' anymore. It's just a hexagonal piece of pixelated particles. With red blood game cells flowing out into the air freely. The black cloak I used to wrap my amputated left arm is flowing with the wind, creating an image of a... Madman... Nearly like a Reaper, I suppose.

For once... I actually stopped punching him. My right hand's actually going red. I stared at my hand with my shadowed blue eye. Then I stared back at this... _Piece of sorry ass... I... Will... KILL HIM... AND EVERYONE ELSE... NOT A SINGLE GUY STANDING... JUST AS HE SAID, NO WITNESSES. YEAH... I'LL KILL THEM ALL!_ No... Wait, stop. I want myself to think properly for a second. Have I took a single chance to look back to the archer behind me? What about her? _FORGET ABOUT HER. KILL THIS GUY! JUST KILL THIS GUY!_

With my balled fist slowly launching downwards... I could feel something panging inside my chest. What is this...? Guilt? Anguish? Sadness? _Why the fuck am I even feeling such things? JUST... KILL HIM-_

"Nameless!"

No, stop! Don't!

My fist landed on the side instead. creating a large hole on it. _WHY... WHY DID I EVEN DO IT?! I JUST WANT TO KILL HIM SO BADLY FOR FUCK'S SAKE. JUST... DON'T...-_

"You're better than this...!"

Yeah. She's right. Stop it, me.  
_What the fuck are you doing here? In my head?!_  
Trying to give you some sense to read to. And it's my head, by the way.  
_Fuck off! It's my head!_  
Hey, who gives the right for you to take control of my head, it's MY head to begin with, anyway.  
_No way in hell-_  
Dude! Just listen for a second, will ya?!

My fist crashed into the ground beside the face of the killer, cracking the dirt ground. Everything went silent. Not me, Shino, nor PoH made any sound. The only thing that kept this atmosphere from going quiet is the SFX of the wind in the Background and the blowing black cape in place, replacing my amputated left arm. PoH's pixelated eyes went wide at my sudden stop. I stared at him back, both of us didn't say anything. I stood back up.

And time seems to stop.

* * *

_What the hell are you trying to achieve you idiot?! This guy... THIS guy... This asshole... Tried to kill you and your girlfriend!_

Dude, stop. Seriously. What are you, a psychopath? And what's that about a girlfriend?!

_Oh please, just because I lay dormant inside this tiny heart of yours doesn't mean that I can't actually feel what you're feeling, right? Face it, kiddo, you're in love with her, you're in love with Shino Asada, that archer girl standing behind you. And I think everyone else knew about it already, especially Kirito and Asuna. I could read you easily like a kindergartener. _

Wh-whoa, slow down... I never...

_You just internally admitted that you're in love with her, though._

Shut up... And slow down! I don't want me to kill a guy here! Listen... I don't know about this, but don't freak out, I myself already knew the reason why're we still alive and perked up with all of these swords and stuff. It's about our existence. Listen to this... If you're always here, you must've have this thought that we should've died at the last boss fight, right?

_...Yeah... I guess?_

Doesn't it hit you on how we get those weird skills and weapons? Now, although I fully trust Shino to be human being, I do question our very existence in this world.

_What do you mean? Get to the point already, kid._

All'll be revealed in due time, my young padawan- ugh! Why'd you hit me for?!

_You earned it, now stop with all of the references already, and get. To. The. Damn. POINT!_

Alright, alright! Sheesh, for being in the same body and mine as me, you're a mess, you know that?

_Do I really have to repeat myself, asshole?_

No... You don't... But now, I need you to work with me. Hand me my body back. I'll also need to talk Shino about this.

_Why should I-_

Please.

_Hmph... Alright... But one wrong move, I'll be sending this murderous bitch of a being to hell and back, then back to hell again, even if you already sent him to prison. You hear me?!_

Deal... And... Thanks...

_Huh?_

* * *

Suddenly, I could control my berserked body. I stared down at the leader of the Laughing Coffin guild with slight hate and disgust still glittering my eyes, then I opened up my inventory. The beeping SFX's getting annoying so fastened my pace. After making some quick selections, I closed the inventory. A particle of blue light pops up in the air, and a teleporting crystal materializes itself and it landed gracefully into my right arm. I grinned at the criminal.

"You know what..." I toss the crystal into the air, and with my poor reflex, I frantically catch it with my right hand. At an uncool way, of course. "Shino's right... I'm a much better guy than this."

The murderer's demonic smile returned. "You got some nerve saying that after you turned orange, you snorted pic-"

I shoved the crystal into PoH's mouth. "But... I find... Lonely to spend my time for a while in prison... All alone... Well, at least we can clear this game, right?" I pushed the crystal harder into the throat of the much older man. "Dude, as I said before, you messed with the wrong guy..."

"Pfft... At leasht... You don knofw fme in real life..." He still speaks even with that teleporting crystal in his mouth? Amusing. "You gotf no proof...!"

I grinned. "Just who the hell do you think _we_ are? I already tapped into your player data, looked into your personal info and sent it to the police... Sorry to say... But it looks like your 'real life buddy' thing will also be sharing the same fate." His eyes went wide as I finished my sentence. "Well, PoH, leader of the Laughing Coffin Guild, looks like this is your end." The crystal in my hands began to glow brightly, giving the signal that it has been activated.

"I-Impossible... Th-that means you hacked into my files?!" He muttered disbelievingly.

I smirked stoically. "Oh it is possible... And really, I can't really blame my other self to went berserk back then... _And I can't also blame my big brother's girlfriend from attacking you as well._.. It's because people like you are just unforgivable." My somewhat sane smile finally returned to this stupid face of mine.

Oh, he's angered, alright. "YOU LITTLE BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU, AND THAT GIRL, AND YOUR WHOLE FAMILY, AND-"

"**_Warp player: PoH, Destination: Prison!_**" I declared, crushing the crystal to let the blue game particles carry this sorry excuse of a person to where the rest of the criminals are. "Heh... Enjoy the trip, you bastard." I chuckled, before collapsing into the ground.

"Nameless!" I turned my head around to see the archer running towards me with tears in her dark irises.

I immediately stood back up, only to be pushed back down by the girl. "Wagh?!" I yelped in my high-pitched voice, she just suddenly charged at me...! My already tired body was unable to withstand the sudden weight and lose the momentum to keep my self up. My body crashed back to the virtual dirt. "Wh-what the...?" I asked to no one, still partially dazed by the sudden impact and the push that made me fell down back to the ground.

It was then I realized that Shino is on top of me, crying as loudly as she could.

"You idiot... You're an idiot...!" She pathetically beats her fists into my chest as she continued to bawl out loud. Obvious tears are falling down from her eyes and down to my clothes. E-erh... Oh yeah... I blame everything on you for making a girl like this to cry, alright?

_What does that have to do with me? I saved both of your lives, you know..._

Ignoring what my other half's comments, I slowly pushed myself and the archer back up. Her cry quickly died down into nothing but soft sobs and whimpers. Her hands had already stopped pounding into my body. Well, that's a perk for being a stoic girl, I suppose. Wow, this is really uncomfortable... I need to think of some way to comfort her and at the same time apologize to her. I awkwardly patted her back in an effort for doing so... E-erh... I don't know if this is working...

After a few minutes, I raised her head at to face mine.

"Let's sit down somewhere else, eh?" I tried my best to smile to her. "I think it's about time for us to talk about something... I also need to get this off from my chest."

She didn't reply back to me. Only a nod.

I nod back to her. "Okay... Uh, but first, I want you to meet... Well, the other me..." I continued with my awkward tone. "He's my other split personality, but i'm sure you've known him... I mean, me, already, right?"

She stared at me, confused. But then she nods again.

* * *

We find ourselves a good shady spot underneath a tree, just before the entrance to the large canyon that leads to the main entrance to the dungeon of this floor. We're guarding the only exit to make sure no one comes in, which we feared for another of those Laughing Coffin guys. Or out, that means if Kuradeel decides to be a cowardice bastard and ran away from Kirito and Asuna. I suppose both of them could handle him, besides, Asuna had all the crystals with her.

But now... To more pressing matters... I think I should just come clean already to the archer beside me.

"Shino." I said her name once, getting her attention focused to me. "I know this isn't the best time to talk... But I can't seem to wait until some other time approaches us. So..." I trailed off, requesting more of her attention to my story.

She gave me an uncertain look. "...Alright..."

I smiled. "Thanks... Alright... How should I begin..."

* * *

**[Mini A/N: I'll be using** _Italic_ **text for this part of his story, so don't get confused this part with Nameless's other personality, alright? His other personality only shows up outside this history part]**

_Alright... Yeah... Let's start with me, and my family, okay? My family consists of me, my big bro, my mom, and my late dad. Yeah, he's already dad, and no Shino, you don't have to say that you're sorry. I think he somewhat earned it. Now... I should also probably tell you about my family's history. It has some really close ties between them and me... Especially my personality. Now, to start, I should probably take us back about... seven years ago, when I was just 9._

_It was when we just got here to Japan. Me and my family got here when I was just in 3rd grade. We moved into Kyoto immediately... But you know, things aren't going exactly smooth when we got there. We thought that we could earn more money by moving overseas, little did we know that it's only worsening our situation... You see, our family, isn't the richest family here on Earth... There were problems involving money, and we're getting pretty desperate on our poor condition._

_That leads to extreme measures... Because, even with that condition, my mom and dad insisted that me and my bro should still go to school. Oh yeah, my bro is older than me by about a year, by the way. Mom had to be a waiter at a nearly run-down cafe... While dad chose a much more darker path... He decided to be one of those pickpockets... I've never seen him going out without a gun. Not ever in my life. He kept saying that it's the only way for our family for survive, so we couldn't really do anything to stop him._

_He was one bastard, even with our poverty, he dove into gambling, even using some of our savings as a bet. But... I think God was being kind to us, stopping him dead in his tracks... I mean literally. But, I think, I was also unfortunate... My dad... He was killed at that night... And that made a severe impact in my family's life, especially to my mental health. Hence my occasional breakdown in game here at SAO and my split personality. Yes, he is a bred from my own... Grief I suppose._

_Now... Let me tell you the story of his death... I need to do this. It was one night, at Kyoto's Shoji Dori Shopping District. I was in a minimarket with my dad. Mom and bro stayed at home to prepare for dinner. Both of us were just buying additional supplies for our family. Suddenly, while I was busy picking some stuffs out, my dad told me that he was going out for a minute. I simply nod back at him, because I didn't know what he was planning all along. A few minutes in, I was still at the store... Until..._

_I could hear several gunshots from the outside. Panicked by the sudden gunfire, I ran out from the store. And I saw my dad... Lying there on the ground, dead. His gun was missing missing from his holster. I turned my face to the side, and there, stands a girl with her mother... The little girl, she stands at the same age as mine, I suppose... She was carrying my dad's gun... She killed my dad with his own gun. Seeing this whole twist, I couldn't accept the fact that he's dead._

_I still remember that date... 16th of February... My birthday. At around 19:30._

_I fell into depression. A deep one. Like a PTSD, you know that, right? I began to suffer severe mental breakdown, and ultimately, it created a whole new personality. Yes, it created my other self. This other part of me, it was like an escape route for all of my grief and sorrows. It used destruction as a way to ease my pain. This also created a turning point in my family's life. My big bro became a junior psychologist, and my mom began to work as a therapist to cure my mental disorder._

_My depression was lifted, but this personality remains, and no, it has nothing to do with my heterochromic eyes. Fortunately for us, mom's business seems to be working out pretty well, our life began to stabilize itself, and thus, now making us a simple Japanese family that came from overseas... Heck, my brother even got himself a girlfriend soon after! I don't know how he found love at the age of 11, but of well... Now, that's one part down... I think it's time for me to- Eh? Shino?_

* * *

I stopped my long babbling when I saw Shino fidgeting a bit.

"Hey, Shino, are you alright?" I asked.

She didn't answer me, her fidgets worsening out. "Nameless... Your dad died... 7 years ago, at Kyoto's Shoji Dori district? On the night 16th of February?" She asked, her breath slightly trembling as her eyes began to well out some tears.

"I... Uh... Yeah... Why's tha- Wah?!"

The Raven haired Archer launched herself to me, immediately gripping my hoodie and pressed her face to my clothes as hard as she could. Much to my confusion, she began to cry. Not a minute later, her cry erupts into a full blown bawl. From what I could tell, she's not crying because of her anger or worry. I think this is much different. Her way of crying by just launching over to me... It's more like a cry of anguish and grief, and almost like asking for an apology.

"I'm sorry...! I'm so sorry, Nameless! I'm... Sorry...!" She whimpered those words out repeatedly, her voice sounded muffled because her face is still pressed against my shirt. "I'm... Sorry for everything..."

I tilt my head in confusion. "Uhh... Shino? What's wrong-"

"**_I was the one who killed your father, alright?!_**" She was _this_ close on spitting on my face. "It's all my fault!" She yelled at my face before her body and face just collapsed into my shoulders, her bawl went on harder. Her grip turned even more harder on my shirt, so hard that I think her nails pierced through my apparel. "I'm... I'm... Sorry... I don't... I don't have a choice... I... I'm so sorry...!" She continued with her apology fits as she cried into me.

Wh-what...? I need some time to process what she just said. "Wh-what do you mean by that, Shino...?" I asked her, trying to keep myself calm as possible.

"It's just... It also happened seven years ago when I was with my mother... Same date, same time, same place... A man that looks like a foreigner approaches us... He pointed his weapon at my mother... I was scared... Then I... Then I just, took his weapon... And I... I'm sorry!" Her bawl turned louder, so loud that I'm afraid she might just pass out from all of the crying. Her body just went limp as she fully collapses into my shoulder after she said that.

I froze. She... She was the girl who killed my dad... With his own gun...

_Do it. Comfort her. I know you can't angry at her, dude. Heh, if I knew about this all along, I might've reconsidered to grow inside your mind._

I looked down at the slightly shorter archer before me, before instinctively pulling her closer to me and pressing her body against mine in a tight embrace. "You got nothing to be sorry for, Shino." I stroked her back. "In fact, I should be the one who said sorry to you." I spoke with a calm tone, trying to console the still crying girl that turns out to be the very murderer of my father... Using his own gun, no less. Heh... Life is sure is tragic for her to find me out of all the players that played this game...

And for me... To fall in love with her, out of all people.

"No... No... I'm sorry..." She kept muttering the word with her face still looking away from me.

I shushed her, silencing her repeating apology. "It's alright... It's alright... I'm right here. I won't do anything to you... So... It's okay, Shino..." I whispered to her, and her bawl was silenced by a bit. "Let's continue our story, shall we?"

Besides... Virtually, he wasn't my dad, anyway... Just like this body... It's not mine to begin with...

* * *

_Okay, Shino, I know that you're listening to me. As I said before, I won't be doing anything to you... In fact, I really respect your honesty by sharing your own part of the story... So let's resume mine story, for a change. Now where was I...? Oh yeah. After our economical problems were down and out, and after my mental recovered. I continued on with my studies. Life seems to be slowing down, just for once in my life. Even without dad, our family seems to be living just fine... Nearly perfect, even._

_My brother's girlfriend seems to be growing closer to him after each passing day, my mom's business as a mental therapist's going very very smoothly. Nothing could go better for us at that point... Until one day, that was... about four years ago... I guess? When I was twelve, yeah. I was just walking home from my school, the afternoon seems to be advancing just fine and quietly for me. The streets were quiet, just me and some other bustling students walking back to our homes._

_Well, I was about to continue my walk... If it wasn't for a speeding car that suddenly hits me. Yeah, a freaking car hit me! Dumb ass driver- ahem._

_So, unfortunately for me... I fell into comatose... And as far as I'm concerned, I haven't woke up yet._

_Shino... I know that this is shocking, and I know you must've had a lot of questions, right? Like how can I get into SAO's beta and actually play the game if I'm actually brain dead in real life? It's because I'm not actually playing this game. It's very simple, actually. It's because **I'm not real.** **I'm an AI, with the memories of that young boy that's currently fighting for his own consciousness at the hospital**. Those memories, all of them, his personality, his appearance, his other personality, everything._

_Yeah, that would also explain how I got these weird swords as well as the skills._

_The Game Master, what's his face- I mean, his name, Kayaba Akihiko, right? Now, I don't know how the hell did he got an info on me. But one thing for sure... He made me. He created an adaptable AI that can learn new things. That AI is me... He only inserted additional memories like me getting a beta key and actually buying the game as the boy, although I'm actually just a simple robotic AI that's capable of seeing and learning things. So... You could also say that I'm just a smart computer, but with the consciousness of this boy._

_How do I know these? I don't know myself. During the last battle, when I almost 'died', I could see flashes of this boy in real life. Heck maybe even I actually died, but Asuna revived me with her crystal. When she did so, it causes a massive system reboot that reloads all of the important data. Those false memories included. . For now... I just want to face Akihiko and punch him in the face, then ask him on how he got all of my data from. I think he deserves it. That also explains on how he said I'm his tool, or some sort._

_Maybe the reason he added me here, was just to test my runtime, or, to help you guys, the players, out, if he's being kind. My name? **AI-001-B**. Basically I'm nameless. Yeah, you actually got my first name correct, Shino. I'm Nameless. The boy's name...? I'd rather spoil his name out... For now._

_Heh, yeah, this is so **Virtually Real**._

* * *

When I finished my story, I looked back down to the archer in my arms. She stared back at me with eyes that shows pure signs of shock. Understandable. If I was at her position, I would not only look at myself like this, but I will also scream something about Robots and Aliens have take over the world. I let her body go. I couldn't really face the girl with the name of Shino Asada after this. Not after she knows that I'm just thin chip of scrap with a personality.

But for me... A freaking A.I... To even develop feelings for someone? That's science slapping humanity hard it the face, my dear readers.

_Dude... Are those for real? I mean... What you're saying is... We're not actually real?_

Oh we're **Virtually Real**, dude. We're **Virtually Real**.

_Shiiiitttt... That's one fucked up story, though..._

The next thing I know, Shino slapped me hard on the face, dude, her slap was so hard, my health bar went down by a little. I could only smile pathetically. This kind of revelation isn't an easy thing for someone to take. Especially for a girl like her. Now I think it's finally time for me to leave her... I can't really bring my face up to see her again. The burden of shame when she finds out that I'm just an AI is just too damn high! (I got that from the internet meme, lol.)

"That was for lying..." She growled, tears still threatening to fall from her eyes.

I smiled sadly at her. "Yeah... I'm sorry... E-eh?"

What I wasn't expecting was her to suddenly hug me, though.

"And... What was that for?" I asked, my voice seems a bit cold.

"For staying with me." She whispered.

_Dude. Do it. Do it. Do it...!_

Do what?

_Confess to her already, you dumbass!_

Wh-what? I can't! Not like this-

_Dumbass! You won't get any other chance... Besides, if what you said is right, then our runtime's also supposed to end if the game ended too, right? I think it's for the best to at least... You know, let it out!_

Well... That's... Right, I suppose. "Hey... Shino..."

She raised her head to face me. "Uh-huh?"

I could suddenly feel my face getting some heat, despite the fact that I'm an AI. "I... I uh... I've been meaning to say this to you for a long time now... A-and I know that this sounds so wrong and dumb on many levels since... I'm an AI... B-but... I... I think..." ARGH, why's is so hard to say that word? This is so getting awkward.

"You think?" She repeated my words, tilting her head to the side.

_SAY IT ALREADY, YOU IDIOT!_

"I think I l-l-like you, Shino Asada!" I yelled as loudly as I could, closing my eyes up shut. "ARGH! Sorry! I-I don't what I'm talking about, and I'm an AI and all... B-but yeah... I think I really do... Have feelings for- ARGH NO, WHAT AM I SAYING?!" I messed up! I completely messed it up! I opened my heterochromic eyes to see the archer with her eyes open wide, her face obviously flustered after my dumb and daring confession. Damn it all, damn it all, damn it all, damn it all...

"Y-you know what, Nameless..." She whispered back to me, her face also reddening up. "I-I think I l-like you t-too..."

Eh? E-eh? EH?! WHAT?! **_WWWWHHHHHHHHAAAAAATTTTTTTTT ?!_**

_HAHA, BOOM, SUCCESS! SUCK THAT, SCIENCE, FIRST REAL INTERSPECIES LOVE! WE JUST BROKE THE LAWS OF PHYSICS, BITCHES!_

I blinked. "F-for real? Y-you really mean it? E-even if I'm an AI?"

She giggled at my reaction. "Of course I do... Even if your body is fake, your heart is real."

This... THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY ENTIRE LIFE! Wait... Kirito and Asuna is still...

I stood up and faced to the entrance. During our entire talk, no one came out from the canyon. Maybe we should check inside the canyon. Just to make sure if they're alright. I see that my left hand is not growing back. Tch, thanks for the cut, PoH. It negates any regeneration, huh? Well, for now, I'll make do with my right hand. I summoned the Nobody into my right hand and turned my face to the archer that... Fortunately for me, now turned into... I hope, a girlfriend, a human girlfriend.

I gave her a look to get ready. She nods and summoned her own bow. We'll have to continue this later. Right now, the safety of our comrades comes first. With one last reassuring look, both of us heads into the dimly lighted canyon, with weapons ready at our hands. I couldn't help but to still feel heavy for some reason, though. I just hoped that if at the inside things took their turn for the worst, Kirito and Asuna escaped the area via a teleportation crystal.

* * *

The canyon was vast, large, and... Big? Well, it's a bit quiet and creepy too. A perfect place for one to execute an assassination. It's pretty confusing too, this place is like a maze. Good thing there's no monsters in this area. But still, we have to hurry. I stole occasional glances to the map, checking if we can pick Asuna or Kirito's signal up. I hope we can reach them soon- Oh hello, looks like the two are just around this corner. Okay, just one more turn.

"Ready, Shino?" I asked the archer partner beside me.

She nods, summoning an arrow to her hands too. "Ready. On your go."

I nod back to her, and both of us charged in from the rock.

Only to see... Both players... Namely the Black Swordsman, and the Vice Leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath guild. On the ground, crouched. Kissing. KISSING! Literally kissing, like... Mouth to mouth contact! Both me and Shino's jaw dropped down to the ground as we both dropped our weapons. I swear, I think both of our faces were lit up like a Christmas tree. Heats're like spreading madly to our faces, coloring our cheeks in deep crimson.

Both of the two players noticed us, and quickly broke apart from each other, also with a very flustered face.

"S-Shino?" I asked the human player.

"Y-yes, Nameless?"

"I-I think, after seeing this, it'll be okay for us just to hold our hands..." I muttered, embarrassed.

Well, at least both of them are safe.

* * *

Later that night, after both me and Shino excused ourselves from Kirito and Asuna, we got ourselves into a quiet park. My hand is STILL not regenerating. Oh what am I kidding... I think it'll never regenerate anyway. It's already pretty late. So most players have already settled into their sleep. The park is only filled with random NPCs, such as myself, because I'm also an AI like them. But yeah, the place is practically empty.

But at least, both me and the archer are walking hand in hand.

"Uhm, hey, Nameless?" She spoke my name nervously. "I... I want to thank you for all of the things that you've done for me. Even for an AI, you really have a great heart. So... Thanks again." She suddenly said that.

Which in turn, made me embarrassed. "O-oh right... No problem... I-it's getting late... I think you should check into an inn."

"I... Uhm... Right... Well, I guess... See you later?" She shyly turned her head away from me.

"Right... See you later, Shino." I also somewhat shied away from her.

"Uhm... Nameless?" She called me again. But before I could react, something soft met my cheeks.

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

OH MY GOD!

_DUDE, YOU JUST GOT KISSED ON THE CHEEK! ON THE CHEEK! SHE JUST KISSED YOU, DUDE!_

I KNOW! OH MY GOD!

"A-a-a-ah..." I went malfunctioned... I'm sure of that. My face was so red that I think I'm going to explode and die.

She giggled quietly at my stupefied reaction, her face is also red. "W-well... G-goodnight." She hastily turned away from me.

But suddenly she stopped, when both me and her got a PM from Kirito. Huh? He sent us a PM this late? I wonder what's on his mind.

And that PM made both of yell in pure embarrassment.

* * *

**End of Chapter 8**

* * *

**Dev's Log**

Dun Dun Dun! You all weren't expecting that, huh?

Oh right, sorry for the lack of length of this chapter. You can blame school and its midterms for that.

I was basically trying a new twist of this story, see if that the OC turns out to be an AI, things could turn out a bit different. And for those who are wondering, yes, I initially planned the OC to be another human player like most OCs would be, but I think some stories need a good flavor that's usually out of the box, am I wrong? So uh, if you're not satisfied by the change, I'm sorry. I just thought about that idea up myself and I wasn't really thinking straight back then.

And I've made several nods to the other SAO characters, most notably, the 'mysterious girlfriend of Nameless's brother'. Kudos on those who know her name. Hint, she knows, and have made contact with PoH, the leader of the Laughing Coffin before, and no, she is not from the anime. She is not from season one nor season two (Yes, she is also not from GGO). She's from somewhere else, the novel? The manga? Games? Guess it ;) free metaphorical cookies for those who got it right!

AND OH MY GOD, CONFESSION CHAPTER!

Erh, sorry if the romance parts was a bit awkward, especially on the confession. I rarely made a story that progresses this far, so I hope that you guys... Like it... Sorry if you don't, though...

And, finally, Shino's history of once killing a man with his own gun is true, though. You can check the wiki. She actually killed a man with his own gun! That man is not this OC's father, though, that's for sure. That event is what made her try the GGO. Hoping to see her on the second season of the Anime, though! (Whoops I'm afraid I may have spoiled some parts of the novel just now. Sorry.)

Well, that's it, I suppose I hope you all enjoyed the story so far, and for the tip, yeah, I will not insult my own work... I hope. Thanks for reading, people! Cheers :)


	10. Final Chapter: Virtually Real

Living as an A.I, huh? Wait, you may think that it's only a computer's life, you ask?

* * *

_"Commence the attack!" Heathcliff yelled, and all of the players charged into the boss room of floor 75. _

* * *

I don't know... For me, it's like you're still living a normal life, the only difference is, you are living inside a game... A death game, which everyone called Sword Art Online. I remember my first day here. Just watching the skies with no care whatsoever on the world. I remember all of those fights, those conflicts, those bonds I've forged with everyone. Kirito, Asuna, Lisbeth, Silica, Klein, Shino. Friends and enemies alike were made during the time I'm here on the game.

* * *

_"WATCH OUT! THE SKULL REAPER CAN KILL YOU IN JUST ONE HIT!" Shouted a random player before his body got cut up himself by the sudden boss of the 75th floor. He disperses into death particles. _

* * *

I've lived my life to the fullest. I've become the first Artificial Intelligence to find love. The very first learning AI to conquer the floors of Aincrad with the help of our friends. And to be honest, I'm really grateful that I was able to live. Even for such a short time. In just two years, I got everything anyone could've hoped for. Starting from the beta key from the game... To great friends, and even finally, the love from a certain raven haired girl that I've befriend for such a long time.

* * *

_"...Isn't that right, Kayaba Akihiko...?" Kirito growled as he glared at the leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath. This sent a wave of surprised and shocked gasps from the players around the floor._

* * *

I've done everything that I've could achieved. In just short time, I've done it. I know that both me and Shino can't be together in real life. I know that. I want to make everything worth it for us. But I kept treating her as a simple friend. She also treats me as a friend as a result. And that's very fine... At least, I can convey my feelings to her. And for her to also accept my feelings... That's already enough. We're not the type to just kiss each other when we confessed. And as I said, it's very very fine.

I don't want her to grow too attached to me. I don't want her to feel bad when I die, or when the game ends. I know that we'll be saying our goodbyes soon, since we're only 'this' close to be logged out. I mean, what's in it for her? Falling in love with a computer microchip? She'll get skinned alive by her friends. I want her to find someone better than me. I don't know if the comatosed 'me' on the outside knows about this... Eh, who am I kidding, of course he won't.

* * *

_"A one on one fight with me..." Heathcliff challenged the black swordsman._

_"WAIT, GM!" A certain one armed swordsman forced his paralyzed body to stand up. "You owe this Artificial Intelligence an explanation first!"_

_Everyone's eyes went wide as they stared at him._

_"Nameless-kun... It's been a while..."_

* * *

I'm just a simple cluster of data...

* * *

_"Farewell, Kirito-kun!" Heathcliff swung his sword at the downed player in front of him._

_"Oh no you don't!" A certain AI took the blow for the swordsman, causing everyone to gasp in shock._

_A raven haired archer raised her head. "NAMELESS, NO!"_

_"Kayaba Akihiko!" The heterochromic eyed young man raised his fisted hand. "LET'S SEE YOU GRIT THOSE TEETH!" With his last power, he launched the fist to the Game Master of Sword Art Online. Heathcliff stumbled back at the sudden impact. "Kirito-san! I'll leave the rest the you! Please... Guard Shino with your lfe." He grinned weakly as the blue particles began to disperse from his body. "Shino Asada! I know that this is obvious... I'm sorry... But... I LOVE YOU!"_

_With that, he disappeared into nothing, but with a happy smile etched on his lips._

* * *

I've already done everything I can to save the trapped 6.000 players of the game... What a way to end my life, huh?

* * *

_"Kayaba Akihiko?" The young man woke up in a glass platform, facing his very own maker._

_The maker of the full-dive system didn't turn his face to him. "There are even times that a creation beats his own creator, yes?"_

_"Look... I just one have a questions to ask... Why him? Why create me?"_

_The man formerly known as Heathcliff finally faced him. "It's because... You're... You're my nephew."_

_"What?"_

* * *

Some revelations were made. Some made me shocked, of course. But some other opened my eyes entirely.

* * *

_The young man, still facing Akihiko, his face showed that like he just cried a waterfall, but it seems that he's much more calm now._

_"So... What about now? I know that you probably can't transfer the memories and consciousness of this being back to the boy's body." The AI muttered with his head hung low._

_Akihiko shook his head. "No... While I can't do that... At least I've done one last thing to keep you alive even after this game ended."_

_"Huh?" The young man raised his head again._

_"I've set your limiter off and transferred you into the mainframe of the dataclusters. From now on, you will live as a cluster of data that can't be killed. You are a living piece of intelligence." Explained the maker of SAO. "You are now one with the flowing world. You are no longer the boy that I met on the hospital, nor a player or A.I. You are now one with the data itself. The observable net. It's in your hand every single data is yours, because you are data yourself too."_

_Akihiko produced a small, glowing ball of light._

_"Such is the power of the World Seed." He stared into the light before handing it over to his 'nephew'. "And it's yours now. From now until forever, you are not bordered with limitations. You are one with the wind. One with the technology and all of its advances. You are a living being."_

_The young man reluctantly accepts the 'seed' into his hands. "But... What about you now?"_

_Akihiko only smiled. "Congratulations on beating the game, Brian. But now... I must take my leave." He paused. "Thanks for playing the game... And for being such a troublesome nephew... Say hi to the real you in the hospital for me... Will you? Oh right... Say hi to your mother, your brother, and his girlfriend too. And... I think you should say something to your own girlfriend too with that seed." With that, he walked away without looking back into the stupefied Artificial Intelligence that was his own creation._

_Desperate, and still wanting to ask more questions, the young man raised his hand in an attempt to stop the Game Master from leaving the area. "AKIHIKO, WAIT!"_

_But he was too late. The Game Master was already nowhere to be seen. Seeing his efforts to call him back unsuccessful anyway, the young man gripped the light tighter with his firm hands. He clasped the orb into his chest. He cried silently to himself. He smiled, before finally faced the light, and with the destruction of the final floor of Aincrad, and finally the glass platform, the very creation of Kayaba Akihiko disappeared himself. But not before muttering something to the distance._

_"Brian... Thanks for your consciousness and your memories... I wish I could be you- I mean... I wish I could be truly me in the real life, but I guess this is it... Guess I'll face this world... With the name of Nameless." With that, he dispersed himself into bright golden particles and it quickly turns into nothing but numbers and data cluster._

* * *

In the end, just over 6000 players were logged out safely from the game. Most of them find themselves at the hospital. Also, most of them, if not, all of them, have to undergo rehabilitation for at least a few months to get used to the real world again. Most of them suffered mental damage, but in the main case, at least they're all safe and sound. Kirito got hospitalized. Asuna, unfortunately fell unto a comatose, and Shino... She survived, but I think... She's not gonna be fine, at least for a while.

Ultimately, I knew that the world is once again at peace. The company that published SAO broke down, but I also heard that some company is building another VRMMORPG game. It's called the ALfheim Online. Just like SAO, but it's a game that focuses more on magic rather than sword fights. Oh how do I know this? Well, haven't you heard that I'm also one with the data? I'm basically an internet. A living internet. I know all sorts of things, despite with me, being only a collection of number.

I could see everything. The government built a school meant for survivors of the Sword Art Online, the SAO Survivor School. It's for those who survived the game, but still seeks further education, surely the 2 years age difference would make something different in their life, right? Kirito returned to his normal life. Shino enrolled herself to the school along with Silica and Lisbeth. They seems to be fine. I have my own doubts what the future'll hold for me. For my friends, for Brian and Asuna at the hospital.

But I'm glad. That I've lived. Even though I must face the fact that I'm nothing more but a piece of materialized numbers. I'm truly glad, even with this situation... At least I'll be able to watch over these guys. Hey, in fact, with me being one with the streams of data, it kinda sounds cool is it not? I feel like Tieria Erde from Gundam 00. Now, I just have to move on. And look at this... After a few months of learning on how to be a data, I can actually tap into every system. Now I feel like I must thank Uncle Akihiko for this.

Speaking of Akihiko. He died. He committed suicide. He fried his own brain with the NerveGear. With the destruction of SAO, he also puts himself to rest. That glorious bastard.

Right now? I'm simply materializing myself for a surprise video call through Skype.

"Hello?" A female voice came from the end of the line. "Who is this?"

I smirked. "Why, you don't remember my face, Shino Asada? I'm your virtual boyfriend you know! Now I feel hurt!"

Shino Asada, in real life. She just saw me between a cluster of data. "N-Nameless?!"

"In the non-existing, virtual flesh..." I sighed. "It's been a while, huh?" I smiled to her. "And please don't call me by that name anymore. Akihiko himself told me that my name is..." Brian, the foreigner.

"B-but h-how?!" She was in tears. "I-is this really you?"

"Of course it's me... Just who the hell do you think I am?!" I quoted that from Gurren Lagann, thank you. With one last smirk, our long chat via the video chat social media begins.

* * *

So once again... Living as an AI isn't that bad after all...

_HEY HEY HEY... YOU FORGETTING ABOUT ME OR SOMETHING?!_

Oh, yeah, yeah... Sorry. And my other personality... He's still alive and kicking. Looks like Akihiko uploaded both of our personalities, much to my own surprise. But ahem, let me start again. Living as an AI isn't that bad after all... You can see all sorts of things, meet new people... And finally ... At least our lives are...

* * *

**Virtually Real**

* * *

**A Sword Art Online FanFiction**

**Epilogue**

* * *

**_Fin_**

* * *

**Author's Notes**

This is it! The final chapter my Sword Art Online Fic! Aww, too soon? I know I know. I've already reconsidered everything. I've already reconsidered writing the rest of the episodes until episode 15, but in the end, I think I should just timeskip. I know, that this is way too rushed. But I myself have already decided that this is for the best. I got my own reasons to end this fic here and now. And it's really a private matter that may involve all of my writing from now on.

I just want to finish this series before that thing hit me. So many plot holes, so many unsaid revelations, so many questions left unanswered... I know. I'm kinda planning a sequel for this story. I don't know if it'll involve the ALfheim Arc or just went straight to the Gun Gale Arc. Shocking revelations, no? And again, twist, twist, and twist. Rinse, repeat. I just want to at least... Finish this story with a shock before finally planning the next steps.

With this, Sword Art Online: Virtually Real is completed. I hope you enjoyed all of the bad dialogues and everything too. Thanks for those who have favorited, followed, reviewed this story. Thanks for all of the 2500+ reads so far. I couldn't make it this far without you guys, the readers' support. Once again, I can't thank you guys enough. Even this story is probably one of the worse OC stories of SAO. I just hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Well... For last time, I guess... Cheers, and Traesto!


End file.
